hack SOUL
by Aggie
Summary: Tsukasa is back in the 'new' World, where everything is reformatted.. the scenery, the clothes.. well, everything except himself. While he and his old friends wonder why, old enemies return and Tsukasa is put in the worst possible position. [CHAP 6 IS UP]
1. Prologue

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.hack//SOUL (.hack//Destination of a Soul)

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Disclaimer: I do not own .hack//SIGN or any of the characters in the anime series. This is just a fan fic based AFTER the series, that's all.

So yes, this fan fic takes place after the series. If you haven't finished watching the series, then you SHOULD NOT read this, unless you want spoilers. 

This is the prologue, or small beginning, of the story. It's not really a chapter, it's just to get you into the story a bit. My chapters are actually quite long compared to other anime fan fics that I've seen here. Anyways, I brought back the characters from .hack//SIGN and they will have brand new adventures and Tsukasa will learn more about fate and which paths to choose when one is lost. Tsukasa's point of view has been placed to YOUR point of view as well so you can truly feel how he does. Please read and review, because I REALLY want to know what you think about this story. Thank you.

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Prologue

A sharp 'A' note. It beamed through my mind, and nothing else could be heard. It echoed into nothing. And then I opened my eyes.

I was back in the World. Back in the place where I stayed for so long. Feeling everything no one else could feel… seeing things only my eyes could see… hearing what only my ears could grasp…

Mimiru came with me, it was her first time coming back to the World as well. I told her it would be all right if I went alone, but being who she was, she wasn't going to let me get by so easily. At that moment I wasn't very sure if I wanted to come back to the world, but Mimiru really thought it was all right now. Everything was okay. 

It took me a while to think about if I should go back or not, but I made the decision all by myself, which I felt proud of, although some doubts were still rushing through my mind. 

It was almost 10 months since Aura awakened. After I regained consiousness from the hospital, I met up with Bear who is taking care of me now. He is a great father. He gives me the careness and love I never had from my other father, or any kind that I could remember of. Although we're managing just a little bit below fair, we know everything will turn out just fine.

I meet with Subaru quite frequently. She is one friend I hope I never lose. The softening love in her eyes always brings my soul out when it's lost in a dark tunnel. I know she has lost a few things in the past, and it makes me wonder some times how she is so optimistic in times when things are bad. That is how she is though. She cares a lot.

Mimiru and I go to the same high school now. She is caring and offers me help when needed. It's a bit tough for her to understand my feelings since she is younger than Bear and Subaru, but like the person she is, she is always up for challenges. 

I haven't seen or heard from Sora since Aura opened her eyes, and Mimiru she hasn't gotten an email or anything from then. The others email him, but there is never a respond. I have been really worried lately. Before I left from the field where Morgana was, I remember him saying, "Let's be friends, okay Tsukasa?" I really wanted to be friends with him, but now I don't even know if he's still alive, which I don't really want to think about. All I can really do now is hope. Some day, he will come…

I looked at the World. Waves of perplexity swam through my mind. There was definitely something different about it. Mimiru told me all about the distruction of the World after Aura awakened. The whole network went offline without hardly a trace. Everyone believed a virus came about the system and it was under construction. But truly, something more terrible happened. It surprised most of us that the World was re-established, it was even more surprising from the small time it took for it to be reborn. It had new scenery, new games, and new characters. We never would look the same as we did before, which scared me. This would be the first time me and Mimiru logged in, to the New World.

After an extensive pause, I looked at Mimiru. If it weren't for the short brown hair she kept I wouldn't have recognized her at all. I expected her to examine her new form, but instead she kept her eyes on me. Her eyes were filled with complete surprise, almost shock. _What was it? Was it my new form?_ I thought to myself. It was only right after that that I felt my hand in a grasp. I was holding something. I grabbed it firmly and felt the hardness that was quite familiar. I looked to my side. It was the staff that I always had carried with me before the dismantling of the World. The staff that protected me at some small points when I was there. _Why did I still have it?_

I brought the staff right in front of me, slowly moving it towards my face. The sun gave a bright shine which presented my reflection on the top of the staff. I looked at it. It was me… It was Tsukasa… I did not change one bit. I had no new attachments and my clothes did not change at all… I was me…

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Why?


	2. Chapter 1 Confusion

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.hack//SOUL -- .hack//Destination of a Soul

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Disclaimer: I do not own .hack//SIGN or any of the characters in the anime series. This is just a fan fic based AFTER the series, that's all.

Okay. Thank you to those to reviewed, it was an inspiration to write Chapter 1 right away. If you find anything confusing at all in the fic, please write it in the review, or email me at hikari@nefertimon.i-p.com.

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Writing Back to Reviewers:

Doktor Rhyste:

It surprised most of us that the World was re-established, it was even more surprising from the small time it took for it to be reborn. It had new scenery, new games, and new characters. We never would look the same as we did before, which scared me.  
  
That is _VERY_ incorrect: Helba drops the data on the game server known as Net Slum, like... erases it's existence from the game ONLY. She doesn't destroy the entire game, the game doesn't get shut down, Tsukasa and everyone else is FORCED to log out of The World after Helba drops the field: she even says, "I'M ERASING THE FIELD," not, "I'M DESTROYING THE WORLD."

Aggie:

Thanks for that message, I would have to explain that sooner or later. In what you typed from my story, I did not mention anything about Helba or about her "destroying" the World. As a fan fic writer I'm going to have to add a few new things, but you are right. If you really want to know why I wrote about the World being re-established, I suggest you keep reading my fic. I should've explained that a bit better. My fault. Thank you.

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Before you read chapter 1, I just wanna put a bit of information here. I added the names of places in the World, so if you get confused, just read here what each place is:

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Mac Anu – the field where Subaru and her Knights usually are. A big town with roads and rivers.

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Dona Roriak – The 'central' area of the World. A good meeting place for players.

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Chapter 1 – Confusion

I then looked up to Mimiru. She looked as though she had something to say, but I spoke before her.

"What… happened?" 

There was a small pause, and then she answered.

"Hmm.. I don't know. That's strange. You shouldn't have the same character you did before… wasn't all the information from the other 'World' completely deleted?"

She didn't give me the answer I wanted, but either way, I didn't think I'd get the answer. Both of us didn't know, which left us in quite an entanglement for the first day back in the World. 

For a little while, we just sat down and did nothing. A few players passed by giving me strange looks as if I was an outsider. I didn't blame them. The new player forms looked so different. I looked at Mimiru again. I examined her clothes a bit better. She definitely had on much more than she did before. Her suit was mainly a silky, dark red robe with a golden string tied around her waist. Her sleeves were quite long and they almost drooped past her hands. Around the sleeves were golden linings, and so were on her turtleneck and at the bottom of the robe. Halfway from the top of her shoulders there were what seemed like golden wings, but yet they were placed down across her sleeves which made then inaccessible… nothing but a piece of decoration. She had a staff too, but it was far different from mine. Golden as well, it was long and on the top was what seemed like a giant cross of some sort. Her hair was the same. Short, brown, and wide at the bottom. That's the only Mimiru I found in her based on appearance. I could tell easily that she did not like her new character.

"These sleeves are too long," she started. "I won't be able to hold this staff properly. And what's with this staff anyway? It seems more like a useless ornament than a weapon. I want my sword back!"

I laughed, which took my mind off of everything else. We then got up and decided to go to Mac Anu to ask people a few questions. Perhaps if we met Subaru she would be able to know something.

Mac Anu was almost the same, but the buildings and houses gave a different context than before. The boats seemed to be a bit wider, and looked more… _artificial_… then those of before. As they walked through the town, people were chattering away about the 'new' World. Tsukasa and Mimiru walked past them, picking up a bit of the conversations.

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"I heard that the CC Corporation closed down the World due to another Pluto Kiss virus incident…"

"Another Pluto Kiss? No way! Then the world's Internet providers would be shut down as well…"

"I think that the CC Corporation closed the World down because of some incident that happened here…"

"What kind of incident? I mean… they wouldn't close it down because of some mistreatment of games or those player killers or anything like that. It must have been pretty big…"

Me and Mimiru looked at each other. Perhaps when they were forced to log out after Helba destroyed that strange field, the CC Corporation was getting some sort of problems. Maybe they thought word would get out about something that happened. Did something really bad happen after what Helba did?

My mind went to a halt as Mimiru stopped him. She pointed to a guy who seemed quite taller than others. Mimiru nudged me, giving sign that she wanted me to ask him about why I didn't have a different character when I logged into the new World. It was my problem, so I didn't argue with her, although I didn't really feel like asking such a strange question. I walked up towards the man. He wore a long, dark green suit and small metal sheaths were on his shoulders and waist. 

"Ummm… excuse me… uh… sir?" I said, tapping him on the shoulder. He turned around, giving me a strange glare with his light blue eyes. I brought my hand quickly back to my side. He didn't seem like the right man to ask a question, for some strange reason. My mouth was still open, and I spoke again.

"Uh… sir… it seems that when I… well… logged back to the World after it… shut down… uh… that I… well… didn't get a new character form… so… uh… would you know anything about-" The man stopped my stutters. His eyes opened wide, and the bottom jaw of his mouth dropped. He grabbed my shoulders, which such force that I could hardly move on the spot. 

"Amazing!!" the man yelled. "This boy looks like a character from before!!" His grip did not weaken, and what scared me the most was that I could actually hear the turn of heads toward where the man and me were standing. Afterwards, all I could hear were countless amounts of gasps.

"Uh… sir… I'm actually a gi-" I was going to tell him I was a girl, but telling him about my actual self didn't seem like a good idea. I'm a boy here, so a boy I am. I felt a bit nervous about what would happen next. Then many people were sprouting forwards and shouting around me.

"Seriously?? Oh my goodness! You're right! He looks just like it!" one woman yelled in utter amazement. I couldn't really find the amazement in all of this…

"How did you stay the same, boy? That's impossible! They deleted all the character forms months ago! This is beyond belief…" an old man said, looking at me sharply. I turned my face away from him. 

The man finally took his grasp off me, but there was nowhere for me to run. There were dozens of people surrounding me, and I couldn't find Mimiru anywhere. Everyone was reaching for me, and their voices almost deafened me. I tried to get them away with my staff, but I was overpowered from the ones who were behind me. Before I knew it, people were seriously on top of me. What was the big deal? Yes, so I had the same clothes as before… what was so amazing? 

I managed to crouch down to the floor. I crawled through a few peoples' legs and out of the circle. I got up and began to run, until yet again I felt someone grab my shoulder. It was unlike the man's grip. In fact, it was so strong that in an instant it became quite painful. I heard myself give out an 'ouch' and then I turned around. The man was unmistakably a player killer. The PK form did not change that much, in fact, the only things different were the front patches, which were replaced by blood red stripes and crosses. I looked at his face. 

"Not so fast…" He said, and gave me a dreadful grin. His eyes were almost hidden by his long black hair. He brought out the katana blade on his right hand, which gave a screech almost more painful then his grip. He brought the luminous blade right towards my neck. That was the moment, where I felt my breathing coming to a sudden halt. 

"Perhaps you can explain why your appearance is the same to before the World crashed?" he said with such cold and bitter-feeling words. His voice was silent, and although people from the crowd were continuing to shout at the top of their lungs, I heard each and every word clearly. 

"I… I don't… know…" I answered. I didn't know why I kept stuttering. I thought I was braver than before, but I guess I was wrong. 

The PK lowered his face towards me. I saw his dark red eyes, which gave me such a chill that I couldn't believe. All I wanted right now was to get this PK off my back, find Mimiru, and get out of here. 

I then heard a voice from behind the PK.

"You better let him go."

It wasn't Mimiru, but I recognized the voice.

The PK turned around and saw a young man with a large sword pointing right at his chest. The young man looked nothing like he did before, but the voice answered everything…

"Bear…"

The PK let me go, and walked away from me and the direction of the sword. He gave one more frigid grin, and jumped high into the air, onto a building and went out of sight.

Bear put his sword away and walked to me. "Tsukasa… you're still…" 

"Yeh." I said. "I don't know why… but…"

Bear stopped me. He grabbed my hand, and rushed me through an alley and away from the angry mob of people. After running for a few minutes, we stopped. We were out of breath, and the town was far away.

I looked up at Bear. If it weren't for his low, warm voice, I wouldn't have thought it to be him. He had dark blue hair and on what seemed to be a ninja-like costume. He certainly looked younger than he did before. His pants were black and wide, they almost reminded me of Crim's clothing. 

After we caught our breath, we heard a faint voice coming from the town. It was Mimiru, who was running full speed towards us. I could've sworn she had fire in her eyes. 

"What were you guys thinking?? You just left me there in that big crowd! I was trying to get you out of there, Tsukasa!" She said in a panting tone. 

"Sorry Mimiru, I didn't know you were there. I only saw Tsukasa." Bear said, looking at her. "Tsukasa, do you know why you have the same character form as before?"

I shook my head. It didn't seem like a big deal to me, but it was to everyone else. 

Bear spoke again. "We should find Subaru. She'll have a different form, but I'm sure she has the same rank as before. She might know a few things beyond the BBS."

"The BBS?" Mimiru said surprisingly. "I didn't even think about that. Perhaps they have something?"

"No," Bear answered. "The only thing they can get close to is knowing about this, but they won't know why. I'll send an email to Subaru right now."

He closed his eyes, and reopened after a few minutes. 

"Now, what are we going to do?" Mimiru wondered. There wasn't anything they could do, but wait. 

"Actually, I'm meeting BT at the forest soon, I'll tell her that you two will be coming as well." Bear said.

"Well, sounds like we have no choice," Mimiru shrugged. She then smiled at me and I smiled back. It would be nice to see BT again. 

It was too predictable that the forest would be the same. A few purple and blue leaves would've proved us wrong, but thankfully they stayed green. As we entered into the luscious area, I sensed that something was around us. Or perhaps someone, I wasn't exactly sure. Perhaps it was just anticipated after all those people at the town trying to get a good glance at me. I never felt completely safe afterwards. Coming back to the World didn't seem like the best idea anymore.

We were now at the heart of the forest, where a woman with long red hair was standing. It was BT. What gave her identity away was her band tiara, which looked exactly like her old one. Her clothing was completely different though. She wore a dark purple dress with white linings on the bottom. Tied to her neck was what looked like a long, thin, white fur robe. It was as if she was part of some sort of royalty in the World, but instead of bearing a staff, she had a long sword at her side. 

She smiled and Bear and Mimiru. She gave a smile to me, but it faded into a face of confusion. She closed her eyes, tilted her head down, and smiled once more.

"Well, at least one of us gets to keep their original form…" she said. The tone her voice told us she didn't like her new character at all. The only one who seemed satisfied was Bear, who didn't mind the change. I didn't blame him. 

"I guess you don't know why Tsukasa is still like that…" Bear said to BT. She shook her head. She looked like she was hiding something, but she always had that kind of expression so I ignored it. 

We all sat down and began talking about our theories on what happened after Helba destroyed the field. 

Bear began first. "I doubt that the CC corporation knew anything about Morgana or Skeith. They would know if there was some sort of destruction though, especially if it was done by Helba. She never destroyed an entire field before. They might have had some sort of fear of what players will think if word went out about what happened, so without even knowing all the facts they closed down the net and 'restarted' the World. As for Helba, well…" 

BT cut Bear off. "If the CC Corporation didn't know about Morgana or Skeith, then I don't blame them for shutting down the World. They think that if an incident like that could happen again, then things will have to be changed. Perhaps someone got hurt, or was stuck in the game like Tsukasa was. But then again… who's to say if they even know about Morgana or Skeith? It almost doesn't make sense…"

Mimiru stopped BT. "Wait…"

We all looked at her. She looked as though was trying to gather the whole situation in her mind. She realized something.

"Do you think… something happened to Sora?"

There was silence.

"Sora?" BT exclaimed. "What would be wrong with him?"

Mimiru continued. "Well… you see… we left Sora behind after we took Aura and left the field Morgana was in. We don't know exactly what happened to him afterwards. Do you think…"  


There was another long pause. 

Bear spoke. "There is a possibility that Sora might have been trapped in the World. We tried sending him emails and he never answered. But the World was reset afterwards so he might be fine now. All we can do is wait for a reply." 

BT and Mimiru nodded. I put my head down and emerged myself into my thoughts. They were right. Something must have happened to Sora. He wouldn't go for so long without giving some sort of indication that he was alive. Could it be that he went through the same fate as I did?

I heard a ringing noise. Suddenly, Bear stood up. "I got an email from Subaru. She asks for us to meet her at Dona Roriak." All of them stood up and teleported. Before I left, I looked towards the sky. The sun was at about a 45-degree depression using the ground as surface. In a few hours if would be dark. I wanted to leave the World before then. 

I teleported to the area. Bear, Mimiru, and BT were waiting for me. Subaru wasn't there yet. Dona Roriak still had its high sculptures and grass, but the atmosphere just wasn't the same. Up in the sky there settled a few spherical objects. They seemed to be some sort of balloons used to travel in the sky for pleasure. I looked up at one and saw two players popping their heads from the balloon looking at the scenery. Where did the CC Corporation come up with that idea?

Subaru finally came. We all stared in awe. What she wore was absolutely… remarkable. She kept her blue hair, but it was much longer. She wore tight black clothing and covering her arms was a small turquoise robe, which went down to her waist. The most amazing part of her suit were the beautiful black wings which came from her back, a little bigger than her original ones. I would think she was crazy if she didn't like her new form. But Subaru was one of those who did not care much for appearance, especially in the World. Her staff was quite pretty. It was as blue as her hair, and formed three circles at the top, with a bright red jewel in each circle. 

She gave a warm smile as she walked forward a few steps. She looked at me. She was the first person who didn't give an astonishing reaction to me. I felt a bit better with her around. 

"So, Subaru, were you able to obtain anything beyond the BBS?" Bear asked. Subaru sat down near the brick steps of a sculpture. The others and me joined her. 

"There is limited knowledge on what happened to the World after we logged out. All we know is that Helba destroyed the whole Net Slum area, but something made the CC Corporation scared about what will happen next. The question is, why would a destroyed field worry them so much?" Subaru finished. The others looked at her to see if she was going to continue, but their hopes died down. This was truly a puzzle that would take a while to piece together.

"I think…." Subaru said, trying to regain everyone's hope. "…that there is someone who can help us… someone who knows the Word emotionally, I believe…"

Everyone seemed confused, but I think I knew whom she was talking about. Subaru looked at me.

"Tsukasa…" she said. "… do you think you can find Aura?"

Everyone gazed upon me now. I didn't know where Aura was now. After we were forced to log off from the Net Slum, I never saw or heard from her again. Yet, I could always go to…

"Yes… I think I might be able to find her…" I said in a silent tone.

Subaru smiled yet again. "That's great. I will be meeting Crim at Mac Anu now. Bear, BT, Mimiru, you three should come with me. I'm positive Crim has some good information about Helba."

The main reason she said that was so I could be alone to find Aura. That was the best way, since I knew her better than any of them. 

Mimiru pouted. "What? And leave Tsukasa? Well……… fine." Mimiru sighed, and teleported away. Bear and BT followed without another word.

Subaru put her hand on my shoulder. "Tsukasa, you can meet at my castle in Mac Anu after you find her, well, if you find her." She took her hand away, and teleported.

I was alone… well, not really. There were a few players around giving me weird looks, which irritated me more than ever. All I needed to do now was to teleport to the place where Aura used to sleep, before she awakened. There were possibilities that she wouldn't be there, but at that moment that was the best place to look. 

It wasn't until I held my staff high into the sky that I realized something. If the CC Corporation restarted the whole World, then that field where Aura was would be deleted as well… wouldn't it?

There was only one way to find out…

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	3. Chapter 2 Reflection

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.hack//SOUL -- .hack//Destination of a Soul

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Disclaimer: I do not own .hack//SIGN or any of the characters in the anime series. This is just a fan fic based AFTER the series, that's all.

Again, thank you for your comments. Sorry that it took so long for chapter 2 to come up, I have gotten A LOT of work in school lately and I'm in a special program where I must work hard on. But even though the waiting for chapters will be long, I won't give up on this fic. I have many ideas that must be put in. I recently watched Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and got quite fascinated with it. If I had to choose a song that would best relate to this fic, it would be the song The Dream Within from that movie. Anyways, here's chapter 2. Sorry if it's a bit freaky, but I can trust you that it will get freakier as the story goes on… so… umm… brace yourself. I'm putting the story rating to PG13 now because of… what I just said. ^^; Please comment afterwards. =)

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Chapter 2 – Reflection

Without another thought, I closed my eyes and felt a breeze pick up from beneath me. I opened my eyes. What I saw almost made me scream. It was a sight too unbelievable for me to even imagine.

I was back at Aura's domain. It would have been the same as before except for one thing. Everything… the trees… the bed… the ground… was covered in blood. Was it blood? It looked a lot like it…

I crouched down and placed three fingers on the ground. I picked up my hand and looked at it. I used my thumb to feel the red substance. It felt like blood too… very thick… very deep…

This was the moment where I was scared like never before. What was all this blood doing here…? What happened…?

I looked around in search for Aura. There was no one there. I walked towards the bed. It was the soft bed that seemed to have the most blood on it. There was practically a tub full of it. I couldn't bear looking at it. The blood was pouring from the sides, making surrounding puddles.

My shoes were getting soaked. I didn't want to be in this place one second longer… but I had to find out what happened. 

I stood beside the bed. Looking at it a bit closer, I saw there wasn't much blood on the pillow. I lifted it up slightly. Surprisingly, there seemed to be something under it. It looked like a piece of paper. I picked it up. The paper had writing on it. To my disgust, it was written in blood. It read one simple word:

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S.O.U.L. 

Every letter seemed to have a dot or period at the end of it. Although I knew the meaning of the word, the letter did not make any sense. Perhaps I truly did not know the word. Wasn't a soul a part inside of you which releases the feelings you feel? Maybe it was more than that... 

The whole thought of this gave a chill down my spine, which did not disappear. Although I didn't fully understand it, I knew something was definitely wrong. I had to find the others…

In an instant, the words on the paper began to disappear. After all the blood vanished, there was only the thin paper in my hand.I stood in utter confusion. _What is going on?_ I asked myself. I let my body stand there, feeling the blood now touching the skin of my feet. Nothing made sense… nothing…

Then I heard a voice. 

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I knew you would come back… I knew you needed me…

"What?" I said in a loud tone. I looked all around me. There was no figure that I could see. 

I took a few steps back, and tripped. I felt my back push against the ground… the blood splattering in all directions… covering every part of me…

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I have to get out of here… I have to leave this place… I said to myself countless times.

I pushed my body up with my staff and lifted it as high as I could. I kept telling it, _get me out of here, get me out of here, _but no matter how much I said it the staff did nothing. I was stuck here, blood staining through my clothes, I could not escape…

I heard the voice again.

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You cannot escape. You will stay here forever… with me…

I was breathing extremely hard. My eyes were wide open and my body was getting weak. With all the strength I could summon, I shot my staff right deep into the soil, past the blood and digging into the dirt. With one deep breath, I screamed.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Everything was silent. I could not feel my staff. I could not feel my body. I opened my eyes, but there was nothing but darkness. I felt as if I was dead… yes… I could feel death…

Then, a long 'A' note echoed through the boundless walls of time. It woke me up and I was able to feel my body once more. I sharp beam of light pearced my eyes in front of me. I squinted as I looked at the familiar figure that was appearing before me…

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Aura…

It was Aura without a doubt. She did not change at all. Her long, light hair reached down to her feet and her innocent eyes glanced at me with such sweet emotion. She walked to me. 

"Aura… you're…" I couldn't find the right words to say. Before I could say anything else, I noticed that small tears were forming from her eyes. They quickly ran down her rosy cheeks and they didn't seem to halt. She stopped dead in her tracks. I ran up to her. 

"Why are you crying?" I finally asked. She gave to answer. She just looked up at me with her heavenly eyes, which were filled with water. 

I looked down to the ground. As far as I knew there wasn't really a ground though, since the surface was the same colour as everything around us… black. There had to be some sort of ground… since my feet were feeling some sort of cover beneath them. I looked at Aura's bare feet. I could see the small tears falling to the surface. But… something was strange. Every time a drop of her tears hit the ground, the surface where it dropped turned red, and than black again. This kept happening every time a drop fell. All this time, Aura was staring at me, not saying a word.

Instead of thinking about the ground, I crouched down so my head was leveled with hers. I spoke again, hoping to hear her voice. "What is wrong? Are you hurt?"

There was a long silence, and she finally began to communicate.

"Please… he…lp… me……"

The falling tears did not stop. In the bottom corner of my eye I could see the formation and deformation of red on the ground. All I hoped was it was not blood.

"I will help you. Tell me how." I said. I expected a long pause, but she immediately spoke once more.

"Please…… you… must… stop… them…… they… must… be…-"

A crumpled noise came from her mouth, as if she was unable to speak again. She stopped crying. The pupils of her eyes were getting smaller and smaller, as if she was completely drowned in fear. Then, they expanded again. Before I could react again, her eyelids slowly began to close. Her body leaned forward, and she began to fall. I instantly caught her. The blood on my hands stained her hair and clothes. I placed her on the ground and looked her face. Her eyes were completely shut and her skin was very pale. This was wrong. I began to shake to in an attempt to wake her. 

"Aura! Wake up! Please, wake up!" 

She did not budge. Her eyes were covered by her delicate bangs. I stopped shaking her. I remembered. The state she was in now… it was just like how she was before… before she first awakened… this was how she was… floating above the bed… for so long…

I didn't no what to do. Silence overtook my thinking and there was nothing I could do that would make Aura open her eyes. 

"This… cannot be. Why… why is it happening again… why…?"

The voice I heard before had now spoken again.

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You cannot awaken her, she is with me. And you will soon be as well…

I dropped Aura and put my hands roughly to my ears. I didn't want to hear that voice again. 

"NO! SHUT UP! I DON'T WANT TO BE HERE! I WANT TO LEAVE! LEAVE ME ALONE! LEAVE ME ALONE! LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!"

Everything began to happen so quickly. The ground disappeared. My feet felt no support. Aura and I began to fall rapidly to nowhere. I reached out my arm to try and grab Aura, who sinked completely in unconsciousness, but I was plunging faster than she was and before I knew it she was out of sight and everything was dark once more.

I felt like I was asleep for hours, maybe even days. I opened my eyes and managed to feel my whole body on the hard pavement. I realized where I was and got straight up with all the strength I had left. I was back in Dona Roriak. Whatever blood was on me was now gone, as if I was never stained with it at all. I laid there for a few minutes, looking on my side. The sun was close to setting, there was a slightly cold wind blowing past me. I tried to get up, but even that was hard enough. What was harder was to think about what just happened. Nothing seemed to pass through my mind with proper perspective. It was as if I had a very strong magnifying glass in front of me. Everything seemed so close… but… yet… everything seemed so far…

After a while I managed to get up on my knees with the help of my staff. The sun was just giving off its last orange rays until it slowly crept below the horizon. I felt my silver hair brushing past my eyes and in the background was the solid, brown ground which I stared at for as long as until I heard a voice through my ear. It was still a bit hard to move. I gradually turned my head and saw, in a distance, Mimiru and the others running to where I was. There was another one with them, who I suspected was Krim. 

Although my vision was a bit blurry, I was able to get a fix of Krim's appearance. He seemed to have hair like before, but shorter and it looked more to the colour purple. His suit looked a bit complicated. He wore a dark red shirt with many rope-like strings surround him in all directions. It was a bit hard for my brain to concentrate on the formation of it. His pants were dark red too… baggy like before… not much of a change there…

The stomping of their shoes made more noise than their voices calling out to me. They knew that I noticed them, but I had no more energy to stand up. I waited a little while until they finally came. Mimiru and Subaru crouched down to me.

"Tsukasa, are you alright? What happened to you? We were so worried!" Subaru said, with a concerned look on her face. Mimiru looked as if she was about to say something, but wanted to wait until I said answered. 

"I'm sorry… I… don't know what happened… " That was all I could blankly say. I seriously could not understand my surroundings as I did before. It was as if I was drained of all my energy. Everyone almost blurred before my eyes, but I was able to regain sight for a while. I could tell by the look on their eyes that they knew something bad happened to me.

Finally, Mimiru said, "Well, as long as you're okay. We better go now. You can go back to Bear's after we log off." Bear nodded right afterwards.

At first I liked the idea, but something made me want to stay in the World. My whole perspective changed so rapidly. I wanted to leave before, but what made me want to stay now? I didn't know what because my mind was crammed with confusion and dilutions. Krim came up to me and managed to lift me up. 

"It's good to see you again, but I was hoping to see you in a better shape." He said, with a small smile. I felt so dumb, I couldn't even smile back in my condition. The best thing I could do now was go home… I guess. Mimiru then put my arm over her shoulders and we walked to the portal, which wasn't too far. The others followed. 

"I'll be here again tomorrow at noon if anyone wishes to meet me," BT said. Everyone nodded, giving their approval on the idea. I gave a slight moan, which was my approval. Mimiru kept a tight grip on my arm as I felt myself getting weaker. I realized now that getting out of The World was for the best. Without another thought, we all left.

After a slight vision of falling through a deep hole, I was able to grab onto my helmet and slowly take it off. I was in Mimiru's room. The light from her ceiling lamp struck through my eyes and felt as if it was piercing through my head. I felt a little better, but only slightly. I turned to my side and saw Mimiru taking off her helmet. She gave me a pressurizing stare, which made me feel more locked up than I already was. 

"Okay, now you can tell me what the hell happened there. Why didn't you come? We were waiting for you for so long! Something did happen… didn't it? Well, we won't be able to help you unless you tell us what! Well?" She exclaimed. I still had difficulty to think straight, so I couldn't catch every word she said. All I wanted to do now was leave.

"May I use the washroom?" I managed to ask. Her stare swelled into a puzzling state. Without hearing an answer, I made my way out of the room and into the washroom, which was on the other side of the hallway. The apartment she lived in was small, but the hallways always seemed so long and right now it was extremely hard for me to keep vision of the door I was walking to.

I went into the washroom. I turned on the tap and cleansed my hands. Although there was no sense or proof of blood being on me, I never felt so filthy in my life. While leaving the tap on, I was beginning to remember the incident back in The World… the voice… the blood…

I looked at the mirror in front of me. I was a girl again. My short brown hair… my dark blue eyes… I never truly recognized myself every time I left The World. I never felt the same way about myself… but all I knew was that I was Tsukasa forever. That was me. I was loosing myself, but I was also regaining. The confusion didn't hurt my mind… it kept it in a bit of a balance, and my soul flowed with it. I always felt that a mirror projected one's soul, so when I look in a mirror I see my true self. But if I looked in a mirror in The World, I would see myself as Tsukasa… yes… I would… so then… I must have two souls… one real and one illusory. I wouldn't have the real soul when I'm in The World… no… that wouldn't make much sense. This is where my soul was… where it belonged…

I tried to take my mind off that matter, the whole discussion with myself about souls didn't seem so meaningful… but there was something about the matter of souls which was stranded in the corner of my mind.

Mimiru walked in the room. I closed the tap, walked up to her without washing my hands, and said, "I'm going home now. Call Bear for me and tell him that." I said nothing afterwards. I was surprised that Mimiru said nothing either. I slid my feet into my shoes and grabbed my coat with my cold hands. After I put it on, I opened the door and left without closing it. As I walked to the elevator, I could sense that Mimiru was standing at the side of her door… watching me…

I went in the elevator. I hated elevators, especially when I was alone. I always felt as if I was trapped with no way out. It was a mild paranoia, which never disappeared, but I am able to live with it. I slanted on the side of the elevator. The ride took longer than usual. Perhaps my mind was on the verge of becoming inactive. I tried my best to think about The World. I knew someone there needed my help. The noises of the elevator were giving me a slight headache. Soon, the doors opened and I stepped out.

I opened the door that freed me to the outside. Everything was white. It was the first snowfall of the month. It seemed to come a bit early, since it was only the middle of October. 

I began walking down the road. The snowflakes kept a gentle pace down from the sky, and I felt them melt into my hair. It was a silent night, and I didn't hear elevator noises anymore, but my headache became worse. I put one hand on my head and closed my eyes while still continuing to walk. It was a strain that I couldn't get rid of. Something was troubling my mind and I was unable to reach it. I couldn't reach my problems… I couldn't…

I then tripped on a sidewalk crack and fell forward. I tried to bring my hands to support me, but it was too late. I fell face-first into the cold snow which, in only a few seconds, numbed all through me. I was all alone, and no one saw me. It was dark and I couldn't see much. I used my arms to push myself up so I was sitting on my knees. Tender pain was the only thing I could feel through my numbness. 

I looked at my hand. It was bleeding. The blood ran from the top front of my hand down to my wrist. I could feel the blood, which was cold and thick. I felt the same feeling on the side of my head. I raised my other hand and touched my right cheek. As I looked at my fingers, they were covered in dark red blood. 

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The blood… I remembered…

I dropped my bloody hand to my side. It hit the snow, which I couldn't feel anymore. The blood trilled from my hand settled into the snow, and instead of melting it, it was as if it became one with it. The blood continued to droop into the snow, and I watched it. I didn't notice the fact that I was losing quite a bit of blood, since the stain of it became bigger and bigger on the snow. I let my mind see instead of understand.

It was now rather painful, but I thought to myself, _She must be in much more pain…_

I left my hand there. I dropped my other hand into the snow. The blood on my fingers had already been stained into my skin, and stayed on the surface of it. Again, I did not feel the cold. I felt nothing but pain…

I looked up into the snow-filled sky. It was snowing much more now. The sky was dark grey, and once more I felt trapped… trapped by the snow… trapped by the clouds… trapped in blood… trapped in myself…

I kept my head looking at the sky. The snow looked so gentle as it fell from the sky… touched ever so lightly my face. Time seemed to flow so slowly, and I did nothing but stare up into nothing. As the small snowflakes fell in my eyes, they began to water… but I knew they did not water because of the snow… 

There was nothing I could do. I knew I didn't belong here, but trying to go back wasn't much of an option at that moment. All I could do was lie there… staring into the sky… thinking to myself… everything becoming a dreadful fantasy…

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Aura… I'm sorry…


	4. Chapter 3 In Depth

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.hack//SOUL -- .hack//Destination of a Soul

Disclaimer: I do not own .hack//SIGN or any of the characters in the anime series. This is just a fan fic based AFTER the series, that's all.

I truly hope that you are enjoying this story, because that's why I'm writing it. Here's a question from the comment box that I would like to answer:

Comment by: Mathais-8888

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This is a good fic, but it presents confusion because of the various add-ons to .hack. .hack//SIGN was the first to come out followed by .hack//INFECTION x-amount of time afterward. An x-amount of time after that, .hack//DUSK was released in the same storyline. The reason why I placed them in that order was because of the characters. With spoilers, what Sora turned into in SIGN was seen in INFECTION. While in DUSK, it is definitely after INFECTION, for the use of Sanjuro, and the character types Kite and BlackRose. I also happily noticed that Balmung was in all three. This presents a major confusion. Liminality is supposed to be what happened in the real world during either INFECTION or SIGN.  
  
Like I said before, this presents a major confusion. When does SIGN end and INFECTION start? That's a problem. We can possibly span about a few years between SIGN and DUSK because of the use of Ginkan in DUSK. I like this transition and sequel, but I just don't see how it fits in because of DUSK. Anyway, I look forward to more.

Well, if it is confusing for you than it probably is confusing to others as well. I have never played the .hack//infection game so it complicates matters. First, I'll just justify one thing. The DUSK series has absolutely nothing to do with this series. This story is strictly focused on the characters of .hack//SIGN and only them. 

Now, I am currently reading the story of INFECTION. I was making this fanfic to be a story RIGHT AFTER the .hack//SIGN series ended. You can call it a _fan sequal_ if you wish. But with the whole story of INFECTION, it might make the story a bit confusing. However, none of the things in INFECTION is interpreted in this story SO FAR, so just keep reading and if there is such a time when it actually does, I will post with information in advance. Thank you. 

If you're a bit confused with the usage of blood in this story, don't worry, that will be explained as the chapters go on.

Also, please review. I like to read questions and comments, and they help me keep working on the story and making it better. ^_^

P.S.!!! If you ever want to find out about when the next chapter is coming out, check out my profile! ^^

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Chapter 3 – In Depth

I made it to the apartment half an hour later. I speed-walked to the washroom before Bear could take a glance at me, so he was unable to see my wounds. I quickly washed my hands and face and shouted to Bear, "I'm taking a bath now." 

I turned on the tap to the tub and waited beside it for it to be half-empty. For some reason, whenever there was a glass filled with water, I would look at the glass as half-empty while many others would look at it as half full. I didn't understand why my perspective was like that… why it always seemed different compared to others…

I turned off the tap, took off my cold clothes and slipped in. I left my head staring at the ceiling, while all I could think about was Aura. Why was she in trouble again? Why was history repeating itself?

I felt a slight sting from my wounds when the water made its surroundings, but it soon disappeared and felt healed by the warm water. I closed my eyes and sank my entire head into the water. I felt my hair brushing slowly across my cheeks. My lungs felt uncomfortable after a few seconds, but I managed to ignore it for a while longer. My mind felt relaxed when it was under water. I was able to clear it a bit and try to concentrate more on what might lie ahead of me. From the facts that I could understand, I had to go back to The World and fix everything before it got worse. Things wouldn't be the same as they would have been. I would need to go back and save Aura, and The World. 

I got out of the bath, put on a robe, and went to my room. Bear was in his room with the door closed. I liked him a lot for the fact that he gave me space when I really needed it. 

I changed into my nightclothes and placed myself on my bed. I looked at my side. My clock indicated that it was 10:30pm. Tomorrow was Saturday. I had a whole weekend to set things straight before I had to go back to school. I didn't seem to have much homework, so if I finished it tomorrow morning I would have a good start at escaping to The World. Oh, but I forgot. Bear and I scheduled Saturday afternoon for a study period. My marks were very low in Math and Science, and he wanted to make sure I was brought up to the class average. I liked Math and Science, but I wasn't very good at studying when it came to those two subjects. Perhaps if I worked really hard with Bear tomorrow afternoon, we could finish early and I would be able to make an excuse to meet Mimiru at the World. Oh, I remember now. BT asked if everyone could meet her tomorrow at noon at Dona Roriak. That's a perfect excuse to cut the studying time. I just hoped Bear wouldn't be too strict about it…

I had a strange dream that night. I was at a bus station and it was raining heavily. I knew this station well; it was the one I took every morning with Mimiru to school. I didn't understand my reason for being there since it was a weekend. I was under the small bus dome, not knowing if I was waiting for a bus or not. I looked to the side. I could see a very faint reflection of myself. I wasn't in my school uniform, nor was I in any of my usual clothing. I was Tsukasa. What was I doing as Tsukasa in the real world? I put my hand out of the dome to feel the drops of rain. As the water fell down to my skin, it transformed into blood. It was no longer a red substance that I didn't know, it was blood. Recently, blood was playing a significant role. It was something I certainly could not explain. I ended up walking out of the dome and presenting myself into the rain. It was very warm, just like blood would be when coming out of the skin. I looked to the ground and saw a giant puddle of blood surrounding my feet. It wasn't something I could bear much longer. I ended up trying to run back home. It felt so long and slow that I ended up lying under a tree. All this time I was holding my staff without knowing it. Without thinking, I threw it on the empty street. There I was, lying under a tree with a bit of blood stained on me, not knowing if this was, in fact, a dream. All of a sudden, I saw a white figure on the street walking towards my staff. It was unmistakably Aura. I tried to get up, but I found it an extreme struggle, and I gave up in the end. All I did in this time was watch her. She walked slowly, which did not matter to me since I was not thinking on time. She made her way to my staff and picked it up. Compared to her, the staff was quite tall. It made her look like a young sorcerer, which I admired slightly. She then turned her face towards me. Her beautiful purple eyes struck through me gently, and I was able to get onto my knees while still looking at her. Aura began to walk to me. She was as tall as me from my current position… so young… so innocent… there was no thought in my mind that such a delicate child could be going through such complicated things. Did she know what she was going through?

Aura brought forward the staff for me to take. I brought up my arm, and grabbed the rod firmly. She then gave the most soothing smile I ever saw. It reminded me of the smile she showed me when she first awakened. She bent forward and kissed me on the forehead. She slanted to the left a bit and whispered in my ear, "Please don't give up. The World needs you, and I do as well. You must help me…" She straightened back up and put her hand on the ball of my staff. Within one second, it glowed white and then back to its original colour. I didn't understand what she did. Before I could ask, everything went blank. Once my eyes regained focusness, I was back in my room with my head on my pillow. Nothing else happened.

I looked at my clock once more. It was 9:30am, my usual awakening on a weekend. A surge of memories went through my mind, which included the dream and last night. I never thought too much of dreams since they weren't even real to me, but for the fact that Aura was in it made the dream a bit more significant than the others were. I wrote down the details of the dream and set it aside on my desk. I would ponder on it a bit later. 

I started to think more on what I did when I left Mimiru's apartment. I felt a bit bad… not saying anything to her after logging off. It would be best to call her, but on weekends she usually doesn't wake up until 11:30am to noon. How could she sleep in so long? I always found it quite a struggle to lengthen my resting time. I never liked oversleeping, even if it _was_ a weekend.

I went to the washroom, washed my face, and made my way into the kitchen. Bear, unsurprisingly, was awake and reading the paper in the room drinking a large cup of coffee. I never liked the taste of coffee, and the thought of that liquid helping to jump-start your morning gave a very slight shiver down my spine. I few hours of sleep was just enough for me to bring me up and awake afterwards. I walked towards him. It was best if I asked him now.

"Ummm… uh… I know we were supposed to study together today, but I really think we should-"

I stopped in the middle of my sentence as he brought down his newspaper and had a quick look at me. Unshaven, as usual. Nothing in the real world changed. All the transformations occurred in The World only. It was a short glance, and then he handed me the paper he was reading. He never did such a thing, so there must have been an important article he wanted me to read. I took the folded newspaper. The article took about a quarter of a page, but it was definitely serious.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

****

CC Corporation explains sudden World transformation

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After many months of silence, the CC Corporation, founded company for the construction of The World, finally speak to enlighten millions of people on their sudden dismantle and remantle of the popular program. 

"We are sorry for the delay in our explanation. We wanted to get The World back up and ready for users again before we confessed the problem." Usachi Mokurawa, member of the CC Corporation said at the conference. "Unfortunately, there were some mishaps with a few areas in the program, and we were afraid that it might create a chain reaction and cause other areas to be in a predicament as well. All we wanted was for all the players to enjoy the game without going through these problems that may have arisen. However, everything is in perfect balance once more and there is once again nothing to worry about."

There have been rumours travelling around about the global Internet network experiencing another 'Pluto Kiss', but Mokurawa reinsures that this news is nothing but fiction. He also mentions the fact that there are absolutely no viruses floating around the system since the restart of the World.

After the conference, players of the program felt more at ease with the situation. Some were angered at the revamp, but were soon able to get used to it. The CC Corporation once again notes that change is needed to overcome difficulties.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

I read through the article twice to make sure I comprehended every bit of information, but some certain parts were unfamiliar to me. I didn't understand in depth what the CC Corporation was, and I was pretty sure everyone else did. This was something I never really thought about. This brought the situation to a whole new level. 

I placed the paper back on the table and sat down beside Bear. He then began to discuss the details that I wasn't able to grasp. It all made a bit more sense then.

"I'm afraid that it's necessary to finish this, even though there is school to worry about," Bear said after finishing the discussion about the article. I agreed with him, even though the thought of my grades was always on the corner of my mind. Yet, some things were growing more important than others were. I accepted what I soon had to face.

At half past eleven in the morning, we both connected onto the World. We met up with Krim and BT at Dona Roriak, and not soon after, Mimiru and Subaru also came. 

Bear and I assumed that the others read the article this morning, so we began discussing it without a fuss. I was afraid that some uncomfortable questions would arise on me, but I could tell that the others were striving to keep me out of it. There wasn't much that I could say, even though I did want to be part of the discussion. I had to face the facts. No matter how much Bear would be able to explain it to me, I wouldn't be able to fully apprehend the situation. The relationship it had with Aura made it all the more confusing. I thought that it would be best to tell the others about what I saw yesterday.

As I was about to speak, I heard a slight click in my head. I, for some unknown reason, had an email. Everyone stopped talking and turned their heads to face me. Each one had a perplexed look on their face. I didn't blame them; I never received an email before. 

"Read it Tsukasa. It might be important," Bear said. I began to read the letter:

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To the user Tsukasa,

We are unfortunate to announce that we must delete your account as soon as possible. Through indefinite problems that we are unable to fully understand, some of the cases that we've had from a few months ago with the program seem to be unusually linked to your account. It would only be safe for you to log off and create a new character before any stronger problems can arise from this.

We are sorry that this must take place, so if you have any rare items in your storage system we will transfer them to your new account once it is installed. Again, we are sorry for this mishap. If you have any questions before you want to delete your account, please write back to us.

Member Administrator of the World

"They're… kicking me off." That was all I could say. As if I thought I understood nothing before, now I'm being kicked out of my account, which meant I would no longer be Tsukasa. I could no longer be the character I was from the beginning, all because of Morgana. No, it was also Helba's fault; she was the one who destroyed that disturbing area which made the CC Corporation restart the whole World. Now they're probably still out there somewhere… 

"What do you mean they're kicking you off?? Who is??" Mimiru asked, in a loud tone. 

"I don't know… I… I think it's the CC Corporation. They… they say my account is somehow linked to the problems they were having in the past… and they want me to log out and create a new one…" I answered. This was all idiocy. I didn't want to make a new account. I like this one. I liked being Tsukasa. 

"This can't be real. Why would Tsukasa's account be linked to the restart of the World?" Krim said confusingly. 

Subaru walked up to me. "Tsukasa, don't log off just yet. I will talk to the administration myself." And with that, she left without giving anyone else a say in this. It wasn't something she would normally do. I didn't want her to go through trouble for me. 

I was stuck… trapped. If I logged out than my account would be deleted. I couldn't stay in here like I used to; I had to get out some time. I wish I had more time to think about this. 

The question going through my head was,_ When should I log out?_ Or, in that matter… **_Should_** I log out? I could tell that I wasn't going to make this decision myself.

"Well, I guess that you should stay online for a while longer Tsukasa… at least until Subaru comes back…" Bear said, in disappointment. 

I was not in the mood for waiting. If I was going to stay in the World, I would want to do something. Anything. Heck, even play a game, although I never was fond of the games here. It never was my kind of style. Either way, I didn't want to keep Bear and the others around me without anything to do. I could tell that they would stay by me for as long as… well… as long as possible.

I soon found myself obtaining a treasure chest from an adventure challenge. I played it with Bear and Mimiru in the form of a party. Krim and BT went off and said they would meet us back at Dona Roriak. 

I opened the treasure chest. Mimiru pushed me out of the way and grabbed the item, as she usually would do when a new item was shown. It appeared to be an advanced form of potion. It looked quite useful to me, but Mimiru sneered at the item. 

"Ugh… all that for this? I have quite a few of these kinds of potions." she pouted. I looked at Bear, who also didn't seem to be pleased with the prize. Mimiru handed the potion to me. "You can have it if you want." 

I paused for a moment, than accepted it. I never remembered having one of these potions around with me, so I kept it thinking it might become beneficial in the future. Bear and Mimiru hung by my side, looking quite disappointed. At least they got their minds off the situation with my account. It wasn't something I could forget for even a second. 

I began to ponder the other ways I could keep my account. I could go back to how I was before, staying online and never logging out. Well, it wasn't exactly the same as then, but I could stay on for as long as I want until they finally kick me out. Being in the World was important to find out the new purpose of mine. I hoped that I would see Subaru soon, and that she had some information from the administrator.

The three of us were back at Dona Roriak not too long afterwards, where Krim and BT were patiently waiting. The patience soon grew thin as all of us waited for Subaru. The sun was ready to set within a few hours. Then, Subaru finally came.

"I talked to the administrators," she began, "but I'm afraid that they will only give Tsukasa two days before they delete his account. There really is nothing else we can do…"

And all was disappointment once more. Two days was all I was given. I didn't want to stand around and watch the Tsukasa-part of me fade away, but in the end, it all seemed hopeless. I wondered that once my account was deleted if I would still want to be in the World. Nothing would the same again.

I decided to go offline afterwards. I didn't want to think about Aura or even the World for that matter. My mind kept going through different thoughts throughout this whole situation, which also affected my moods. After I logged off, I went to the kitchen and had some chicken and rice for a meal. After I washed the dishes, I noticed that the article about the CC Corporation was still on the table. I took a pair of scissors, cut out the article from the rest of the newspaper, and posted it on the refrigerator. I would read it again once more in the morning.

I went to my room. My clock radio displayed that is was 7:30pm. Bear did not go offline yet. He was probably talking to the others about me. I never liked people talking behind my back, but perhaps this was necessary for once. After all, they were trying to help me. Things aren't going right for me at all.

I sat down on my desk and struggled on my math homework. I did this for two straight hours. Of course, I have seen others do more, but this was quite a hard time for me. I grew tired quickly, but I was able to hear Bear come out of the computer room. He made his way to the kitchen, took out a plate, and began to eat. I suspected that he finished the rest of the leftover chicken and rice. My mind, at this time, was hazy. I looked at my clock radio again, and it was now 10:00pm. 

I took a shower, slipped into my pajamas, and went to my room. Suddenly, Bear opened my door. "I talked with the others. If you wish to discuss anything with us, we're always here. Tomorrow, we'll work on your mathematics. Just forget about the World for this weekend." He left the room afterwards.

This wasn't something I could just forget about, although deep inside I really wanted to. If I forgot about it all this weekend, than my account would be gone forever. The thought of this kept sinking deeper and deeper into my soul, until I was actually beginning to feel pain in my chest. I couldn't explain to myself why, but I knew that I needed Tsukasa. Tsukasa was me, and I can't just let go of him. 

I fell onto my bed and stared into nothing. What I realized was that if Bear was going to study mathematics with me, than I wouldn't be able to go to the World. That's one whole day gone and only one more to go. I decided that I would go to the World right after school the next day, which was Monday. If there was truly nothing I could do, then it would be nice to be Tsukasa one last time.

Before I went into a deep sleep, I was thinking of emailing the CC Corporation the next morning with a few questions of my own, and perhaps I could get some information that linked to Aura. It wasn't much of an action, but there was nothing else to do. 

I slunk my head into the pillow and motioned my hand to the radio clock and set a wake-up call at 8:00 am. I went to sleep right away. 

I did not dream that night.

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Do you like the story so far? Any questions or comments? If so, please review. ^^


	5. Chapter 4 Falling Soul

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.hack//SOUL -- .hack//Destination of a Soul

Disclaimer: I do not own .hack//SIGN or any of the characters in the anime series. This is just a fan fic based AFTER the series. That's all.

Recap from last chapter and a little info on this chapter: After Tsukasa was in a continuous slump from the situation with Aura, things seemed to keep getting worse. Not only do the troubles in the World seem to rise behind everyone's back, but Tsukasa soon finds out that she is being kicked out by the CC Corporation. Secrets are being contained, but will the bubble ever burst? Meanwhile, Tsukasa is now thinking on how to spend her last day in the World as her character, but will it truly be her decision in the end…? (sigh… do you know how hard it is to refer Tsukasa as a girl? lol...)

Heh, anyways, I just felt like putting that little thing in. ^^;

Nothing much to say right now. I'm trying to keep this story short, but it seems to be prolonging itself, hehe. My first intention was to make it about 6 chapters (just a short story), but now I can tell it'll be much longer. ^^; This chapter is longer than the others due to the fact that something VERY IMPORTANT happens. Be prepared for new adventures and astonishing facts! And please review! I love reviews! Muahaha! ^^ Anyways, onto the next chapter...

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Chapter 4 – Falling Soul 

So this was how it was going to conclude. I was being kicked out of the World, and the decision was entirely beyond my control. I wish it was in my will do to what I wanted, especially in this case, but wishing was the only thing I could do and nothing would come out of that. I didn't want to be any other character other than Tsukasa. _That_ was my decision. Once my character would be deleted, I would never play the game ever again. Sudden extremities had gotten me into this position, and I had to stabilize myself whether I favoured it or not. Of course, I wasn't thinking about poor Aura at that time.

Those were what my morning thoughts turned out to be. Well, what else could I truly think about? It was 10:00 in the morning, and I went to the kitchen to have a light breakfast before studying with Bear. I met Bear at the table, where he was eating eggs and bread. After finishing off, we cleared the table and put my entire pile of math notes and homework on the surface. From the looks of it, the day would not start out gracefully.

Countless of sheets was spread around. Thinking about all the complicated calculations I had to solve didn't leave a good taste in my mind. I looked up to Bear, who seemed more than determined to help me in this in whatever way he could. I sighed, but softly so he wouldn't be able to hear it. I took out my pencil and eraser and we began.

As I took a glance at the clock, I realized that an hour had passed. It was around the time where I wondered how much longer this whole session would take. Considering Bear's determination and my stubbornness, as usual, it would go on for three or four more hours, give or take a few minutes for me to re-establish my brainwaves after a large mathematics problem. Although I believed that I was slowly making improvements in certain areas, Bear wanted to make sure I understood every exercise and unit. My eyes were beginning to hurt from all the algebraic problems. 

At around 4pm, we took a break. Bear went out for a short walk, and I trailed into the computer room. I remembered everyone saying not to worry, and to forget about the World for now, but it was easier said than done. I was losing a lot here. Yet, I still kept my word and said that I would not back online today, even though Bear was nowhere to be found at that moment. I decided to check my email. I had one new message. Nothing seemed too serious from it, so I opened it. It was from Mimiru. It said:

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Hey there,

Sorry about this whole thing. Aren't the people at the CC Corporation a bunch of assholes? All this just doesn't make sense. Well, don't worry. I promise you that you'll have a lot more fun with your new character. To tell you the truth, seeing your old character while everyone else had a 'new' one was kinda strange. Maybe it's for the best. Maybe this will truly solve something. At any rate, don't be down. I saw you before you logged off and you didn't seem well. I'll talk to you in school tomorrow. And don't let Bear read this, but maybe you can sneak on after school on Monday once last time. ^_~

-Mimiru

In some times, Mimiru could truly be a mind reader. To be more honest, in most times. I didn't want her to be concerned about me, but the short letter did cheer me up a bit. It wasn't going to change anything, but it helped. She also seemed to have the idea that I should come back online as Tsukasa one last time on Monday. She was my age, so she understood me better than almost anyone else… well… besides Bear, and probably Subaru. I decided to cherish the idea secretly. It was better that Bear did not know, or it would complicate matters a bit. After all, it was just going to be for an hour or two, and then it would be over.

Things were going by almost optimistically when Bear came back and I continued my math lesson. Time was flying by like bread popping out of a toaster. Of course, at that point it would be toast, not bread. By the time I was done my practicing, I would still be myself with perhaps a bit more knowledge of math than before. All in all, it was an exceptionally well warm-up, and I gave thanks to my mentor. Bear was quite exhausted, and I felt a bit sorry for him that he had to put up with my lack of facts. However, he was truly supportive of me and I respected that completely. 

It was 6pm now, and we were completely famished. I decided to set dinner for Bear and me, but when I looked into the refrigerator, all I could see was a block of butter, five eggs in a carton, two cans of beer and a bottle of grape juice. We had forgotten to buy the groceries for this week. I took four eggs, boiled them up and made them scrambled. Bear reached into the fridge and took out a beer. We sat down and ate the meal in about five minutes. Now all that was left was the decision on who would go buy the groceries tomorrow. I didn't want to because it might take a bit of time off of being in the World. However, I did not tell Bear this. Bear didn't want to, because he would have to leave work a little early. He decided that moving the cap of the beer back and forth would make the decision. Back for me and forth for Bear. Bear began. 

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Back, forth, back, forth, back, forth, back, forth, back, forth…

SNAP!

It landed on back. I slunk into my chair in disappointment and Bear gave a small chuckle. Well, there was no way out of that. If I had to get the groceries, then I would need to go straight home afterwards. The whole plan with Mimiru was slowly descending down the drain. There had to be some way to figure out a good outcome in this tight situation. 

It was 7pm now. A quiet evening was upon us. Bear switched on the television, and we both sat down, watching a game show with random questions that, if answered correctly, would win you a million dollars in the end. Bear and I spent most of the half-hour guessing the answers, but realizing how completely wrong we were. It was a soothing enjoyment, and it took my mind of many things. Bear seemed quite debilitated in the end. I felt a little bad, because he spent most of his free Sunday helping me. I attached a reminder in my head to repay the kindness, sometime in the near future.

Tomorrow morning would be another predictable school day, so I prepared myself a shower before changing and climbing into my bed. The usual wake-up time would be around 7:30am. Within a half-hour, I must shower, change, eat breakfast, and do my brushing necessities. At 8am, I run off to meet Mimiru at the bus stop – I'm suddenly reminded of my dream at the bus stop – and we are off to school. Hopefully if the weather is normal, we make it to our high school at 8:30am. School will start at 8:45am, so we have time to spare. The free time is usually taken up by meeting others and having short conversations about the day before. An absolutely normal day.

****** 

The sleep-filled night felt extremely short, and I felt like I was being pushed out of my bed by my alarm clock, which was screeching the time, 7:30am. I felt exhausted, even though I slept the common hours before a school day. I usually felt quite refreshed and ready, but today was completely opposite. I struggled to get my legs out of the sheets and onto the cold floor. I walked half-blindly to the bathroom, and took a cold shower. There was my refreshment.

After feeling more awake from the shower, I changed into my uniform. The suit I wore to the high school I attended was quite common to others. It consisted of a purple skirt that reached the knees, and a white top with long sleeves with a purple bow made on the chest. If the clues weren't enough, the school's official colours were purple and white. I never had a favourite colour, and white was more of a pint than a colour. Purple was completely fine with me. I had already worn the same colours for the past two years, and I haven't complained, unlike other high school girls who have nothing better to do. I would sometimes find Mimiru complaining that purple wasn't her colour, but I had already gotten used to it. People have to express their feelings in some way.

After I made sure the uniform was put on well, I half-rushed down to the kitchen to make breakfast. Bear had his suit on and was ready to leave for work, as usual. 

Before he left, he pointed to the refrigerator. I squinted to the direction, and noticed a long grocery list. I gave Bear an evil stare, and he smiled. I wished him a safe trip, and with that, he left. I walked over to the refrigerator to examine the list more carefully. At first glance, the items weren't unusual or anything like that. Bread.. milk.. turkey.. the main package. However, as the I brought my eyes down the paper, all I wished was that the beer cap landed on forth. I took the list and stashed it in my school bag, which was lying on the kitchen table. Beside the bag was a neatly made cheese sandwich with a note. It was ludicrous actually, because I didn't notice any cheese in the fridge. I read the note:

"You have the same for lunch too."

I laughed to myself and began to eat the sandwich while standing up, although I was in no hurry. After carefully stuffing the last few bits of the meal in my mouth, I looked through my knapsack to make sure everything was in place and order for the school day. I glanced at the kitchen clock above the stove, which read 7:50am. I zipped up the bag, put on my shoes and coat, went out, and locked the door. I slipped the home key gently into my pocket and made my way down the elevator.

Once I opened the door to the outside, I felt a sharp slap of wind brush across my face, which told that it would be quite a detestable day in terms of weather. I quickly dove down the street in hope to meet Mimiru at the station. Yet, I was in a deeper hope to get under the bus stop dome before the falling wind got any worse, or if it began to snow once more. The wet slush on the ground was uncomfortable enough. But, against my wishes, the sky soon filled with the white substance that I could now feel on top of my head. I made it up to the block where I would be able to meet Mimiru and wait for the bus to arrive. 

I always expected to see Mimiru at the bus station, waiting for me. I never got a chance to beat her to the spot; but then again, I never bothered to try. She seemed to like being the first there. I got to the corner where the dome was and met her under it.

"Wow, the weather is quite fierce," I decided to say while catching my breath. Mimiru smiled and brought her hand up towards my hair.

"Yes, I can tell that it is," she said, and began to brush her fingers through my hair, getting rid of the snow that piled up upon it. She was wearing gloves, warm gloves for that matter, which I could feel close to my scalp, almost feeling like a cleansing massage. I smiled back as she put her hand back down to her side. 

We didn't hold much of a conversation in the first few minutes being together, but when Mimiru poked her head out of the dome to see that a bus was not coming yet, she began discussing the predictable topic.

"Anyways, I'm sure you read my email," Mimiru began. Before I could give her an answer, she continued, "So, maybe I can come over to your apartment afterwards and we can go online?" 

There was much to think on that. After school, I would always have three hours before Bear came back from work. But wait, I also had to get the groceries for home. The store was not too far from the apartment, so getting the food and coming back would take about an hour, depending on how long it should take me to find everything on the food list. 

The excitement of wanting to be back in the World as Tsukasa rose. This was my only chance to feel the place as I did before. And besides, I _needed _to go back. Aura was in trouble once more, and before any more conflicts could arise, there has to a cease to it once and for all. 

I looked at Mimiru. Her light brown hair was perfectly untouched, which meant that she got in the dome right before it started snowing. It was her hair that reminded me of her character in The World, where there wasn't much difference between them. I felt like running my fingers through it, in a friendly fashion, just like she did to mine. A wordless action to show what a wonderful friend she was. However, I decided to just answer her question.

"I like the idea," I commenced. "However, I need to get groceries from the food market once the school day ends. Will you want to come with me, and then to my home afterwards?"

Mimiru grabbed me by the shoulders. "Of course I'll come!" she exclaimed, with a large smile on her face. "We'll get the stuff right after school, head off to your place, go online, and I'll leave before you can get in trouble! It'll be a piece of cake." 

That reminded me. Strawberry shortcake was also on the grocery list.

The subject seemed to settle to that since the bus had finally come our way. The vehicle was half-empty, and we managed to find two seats in the very back. It was extremely cold on the bus, so we spent the whole trip cupping our hands over our mouths. A 20-minute ride felt much longer today, and there wasn't much to talk about except the sudden cold weather. Once the bus reached the school, we quickly got off and, for the first time in a long while, felt an extreme desperation to get into the building. 

We placed ourselves in our seats in the class and waited patiently for school to start. Mimiru was telling me something about how our English teacher was a psychopath, but I was only half-paying attention. The cold air surrounding the room distracted the other part of my mind. It would take about an hour for the heaters to do their job. I was thinking of complaining to the principal about starting the heating system just a bit earlier.

In any case, once everyone was in class and the bell had ringed, full attention was brought towards the front of the room where our math teacher slowly went through a few problems from our math homework. I carefully examined every note she made and compared it to my thinking. There wasn't much to be perplexed or confused about, so I took the rest of the time to make sure all the answers were right. I had the last two problems wrong, but Mimiru gladly helped point out where I missed something.

Lunchtime was fairly normal, but pleasant. We took this time to add any necessary conversation that we missed out while waiting for the bus. There wasn't much, so Mimiru decided to continue with the World discussion.

"Anyways, so we'll go to the grocery store, pick up whatever, and head to your house. I'll just stay for an hour. It sounds like enough," Mimiru said, and then took a large bite out of her rice ball. 

I nodded, unable to speak with the jumble of cheese and bread in my mouth. An hour was unfortunately short, but all good things must come to an end. Either way, it was the one thing I was looking forward to after school. 

After lunch, we ran quickly to our next class, Philosophy. It definitely wasn't a favourite subject of mine, but I manage to keep a mark slightly above average in the class, and so does Mimiru. I spent most of the class tapping my pencil on a blank sheet of paper and calculating my tapping speed every minute. It wasn't the greatest activity, but I was able to make an exceptional pastime, rather than having to listen to the teacher give a glorious speech about the essences of life. However, I stopped my tapping activity when a single word that the teacher mentioned rang through my head. I brought up my head to listen.

"The soul," the teacher began. "A definitely important philosophical reference to our topic. One can say that the existence of a soul creates a man, yet others would say that a man created the theory of a soul. Many different philosophers such as Plato have discussed the subject. In one of Plato's theories, he concluded that the soul is made up of three parts; the reason, the spirit, and the desires. I would like you all to make a one-page essay on Plato's theory of the soul, and hand it in by tomorrow."

For the first time in a long while the teacher actually caught my attention. Well, it didn't matter who was telling the story; it was the words that moved me. It reminded me of that note under Aura's pillow that read 'S.O.U.L.' and I was brought to remember how much confusion it gave me. Did the soul itself play some sort of role in this problem in the World? I couldn't see where it would fit in, but there were always those staggering possibilities. 

Regardless, all this had to be more than just a pure coincidence. It made me want to get back to the World more than ever. However, I could tell that my brain was rushing far too much. I looked down at my desk and recollected my thoughts. This truly made me think deeper into the subject of the soul. _Reason._ I couldn't fully understand that point. The soul makes up reason? What sort of reason? The reason to live? The reason to understand? This subject was based on human thought, wasn't it? _Spirit._ I've heard different religious references to the spirit within one person. It was never a thing I really thought about, since I never saw or felt it. However, I do feel things getting deeper. _Desires._ Every human has desires. Some have desires for objects; others crave things that have more to do with emotions to each other. Could that also have to do with the soul? My head is beginning to hurt. Or perhaps it was my soul that was hurting...

The bell rang, ending school for the day. Luckily, the only homework I had was the philosophy essay. I would start working on it after coming back from the World.

I packed up my bags, left the classroom, and met up with Mimiru at our lockers. I stuffed unnecessary textbooks into my locker, and banged it shut. We both began to walk outside of the school, and towards the bus stop.

"How about we save a bus ticket by walking to your apartment from the store?" Mimiru suggested. That felt like a last minute thought to me, but as long as I didn't buy too much (how long was Bear's list again?) then that idea would be fine. I nodded either way.

Once we made it to the store, I took out the grocery list. It was then that I remembered how uncomfortably long it was. It would be devastating to carry around the bags alone, but, luckily, Mimiru seemed glad to help out. After a slow hour of grabbing what was needed, I paid for the groceries and carried three heavy bags. Mimiru insisted on taking the other four. That equaled another thing I owed her. Where would I be without her...?

It took us another stressing twenty minutes to drag the bags of solid nourishments. Although, not everything that we were carrying was healthy. I did mention that strawberry shortcake, didn't I? Bear also added some packs of chips to the list, with names that I couldn't even imagine could be turned into a thin, greasy, snack. That became the main discussion between Mimiru and me until we reached my apartment. 

Once I opened the door to let Mimiru in, I glanced at the small clock upon the wall. It was 5pm, and Bear would arrive home in an hour. There wasn't much time left, so we both slammed the grocery bags on the kitchen table and headed straight for the computer room. I turned on both of the two computers me and Bear owned, deciding that we would use separate PCs. I pulled out the chair for Mimiru, while I sat on the other. In less than five minutes, we were able to log on. Thank goodness, the CC Corporation still didn't erase my account.

The sharp 'A' note echoed through my head, just like it when I last came to The World. I didn't bother to concentrate on it, or to let it distract me. When I opened my eyes I was back in The World with Mimiru standing right next to me. I had almost forgotten that her character was now completely different. Things needed some getting used to, especially after all the chaos happening that the others did not perceive.

I stood in my place for a few careless seconds and turned my head from left to right. There was nothing suspicious at all. It was almost like an ordinary log-in, to when I didn't have to worry about anything. However, there were many things I had to keep in mind. Aura was out there, in trouble, and I had to save her, even if it meant that I had to do it alone.

Mimiru shook me out of my silence. "Come on Tsukasa! We have to let this moment last! Let's go play a fun game or something!" she shouted. There was nothing I wanted to do more than spend the rest of the time with Mimiru. My own meandering enigmas would interfere with what I truly wanted. There had to be someway that I could continue my investigation without disappointing Mimiru. Or not just disappointing her, but making her suspicious. This wasn't something I wanted her getting involved into. Just thinking of her getting hurt made my nerves go unnoticeably hostile.

Mimiru grabbed my arm, and in a flicker of a second, we were transported to the front of a cave that I have never seen before. We were both standing on a wooden platform, which disappeared a few meters into the hole. I looked at Mimiru in confusion. She smiled.

"I checked this adventure out yesterday. It looks really great, and I wanted to do this one with you," she exclaimed. She displayed her sparkling eyes that resembled that of a young innocent child, almost like Aura herself. How could I say no?

Without any sort of hesitation, we entered the cave. In an instant, the atmosphere was completely dark and still. There was nothing else I could hear but Mimiru's and my footsteps over the semi-damp surface. While holding my staff with my left hand, I brushed my right hand across the adamantine walls and kept it as a type of railing to make sure that I wouldn't trip over anything. Mimiru was walking in front of me, although I could only tell by the sound of her feet meeting the ground every second, in almost constant rhythm. From the sound it was as if she was only about a meter ahead of me, but I could not see her at all. I couldn't understand how to do any kind of task in this sort of layer of darkness.

Finally, after many minutes of going through the narrow tunnel, there was a faint light ahead of us. I was now able to see Mimiru as she pointed forwards and said, "There's something up there. I think we've reached our destination." I couldn't agree with her more. The light clearly showed that there was something waiting to be found by us.

We picked up the pace, and entered a huge room that was many times larger than the burrow we went through. There, a tall monster was standing in front of a treasure chest, waiting for us. It almost resembled a knight, with large spikes embedded on his head and large, silver armor covering his body. Without another thought, I brought out my staff in front of me, as did Mimiru. She went up and took the first strike, right at its inner thigh. The knight flinched a bit, but the shot made little to no damage on the surface of his body. Mimiru stepped back as it tried to swing at her, and missed by a few centimeters. I decided that it was my turn to go for the next shot. I lifted up my staff, ran at a reasonably quick speed, and launched myself in the air. I aimed for his head, and swayed my long rod right over him as hard as I possibly could. The impact made him stagger a bit, which I didn't find too surprising. Real or computerized, nothing would like being hit severely on the head.

While the enemy tottered in a confused manner, Mimiru shot her staff through the area where a human's heart would lay. She treated her staff as if it where her old sword that she obviously longed for again, and the long rod went clear into the knight. The body began to fall, and I grabbed Mimiru's hand to drag her away from the knight-like enemy. It dropped to the ground and sent a crashing sound echoing throughout the entire cave. 

The fight was over, and Mimiru gave out an expression of excitement. "Wow, that was pretty easy, ne, Tsukasa? Well, let's go see what we fought for," she said, slowly approaching the treasure chest that the knight was guarding.

There was something a bit off. Mimiru always chose challenges that seemed quite difficult, and although the knight was a bit fierce, it was an obstacle easily attained. Nonetheless, I followed Mimiru up to the bright container. We both put one hand on the front of the cover and pushed upwards. It was a bit of a struggle, but we managed to get it open. 

An enormous amount of light shot through the chest. Instead of filling the room, it shined towards the ceiling of the cave, as if it was a flashlight. We both looked upwards, and saw that the light shined right through the ceiling, enabling us to see right through the cave. There were a few people walking right over the cave, as if almost walking over an invisible hole. It made me realize how much this cave was underground. 

Although the light was extremely brilliant, it didn't seem that the characters walking above could notice it. I looked over to Mimiru, who was astonished to see such colour give off. 

"It's so pretty, isn't it?" she said, and brought her hand over the light. I looked up and saw a shadow of her hand, which was brought back into the hard rock ceiling. It was stranger than I could imagine. 

Suddenly, the light became brighter. Mimiru quickly took her hand away from the light and examined her palm, as if checking if it was burned. Did the light become hot? 

Before I could bother checking for myself, my eyes became blinded by the light. The last thing I saw was Mimiru shielding her face from the blazes of brightness, and so did I. Before I knew it, I had lost all feeling around me. I kept my eyes closed, afraid to open them and see where I was. My feet did not touch anything, and I felt no wind to indicate me if I was rising or falling. 

Time felt completely useless. It could have been minutes or hours that passed in between, but just as I decided to open my eyes, my feeling senses were back to normal. My feet were on hard rock again, or at least that was my guess. I couldn't believe it when I had finally brought my hands away from my face.

The cave had disappeared. There was no longer a luminous light in front of us. In fact, there was hardly any light at all. A glowing full moon was hanging in the sky, and an awful-smelling mist was contained in the area. It took me a while to find Mimiru only a few meters ahead of me. I could tell how frightened she was. Now she was involved in this mess...

"Ts.. Tsukasa.. where are we..?" she stuttered to ask. There wasn't answer I could give her. I didn't know where we were. However, the atmosphere was somewhat familiar. 

We both began to walk around the sector. Trees began to develop in sight as we walked through the thick fog. Mimiru kept one hand over her nose to stop the smell from getting to her. I decided to breathe through my mouth, although that wasn't any better. After walking for quite a while, the fog began to fade. The trees, bushes, and ground began to look more perceptible. 

The next thing I saw made me stop completely. I was holding Mimiru's arm at the time, so she was forced to stop as well. What I saw was Aura's bed, right where I used to keep my solitary times in the past. It was then that I knew why this place looked familiar. I was here not too long before as well. I was brought here once more and something terrible was lying ahead. It was beginning...

I turned Mimiru towards me before she could see what was previously in front of her. "Listen Mimiru," I started, holding both her shoulders, "We have to get out of here, now. This isn't right. We must-" 

Before I could continue with my faltered voice, a dark wind of energy shot right at us. It was unbearably forceful. I let my staff drop to the ground and covered my arms around Mimiru to protect her as best as I could. But, we both collapsed to the ground and became covered by the darkness. It wasn't long before I heard the voice that I wished I would never hear again.

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So, Tsukasa... Did you really think you could tear away from all this? None of this will cease until you understand what you must rightfully do..., the woman's voice echoed.

I carefully made sure that Mimiru was all right. She was shaking in my arms. Never before had I felt her in this way. Morgana must have done something to her. Mimiru was much stronger than this. I got her up to her knees, which was as much as I could do at the moment. On the other side, I had to deal with this horrid situation.

"Do you really think I will give into your words? I almost did one time, but that will never happen again! What have you done to Aura? Set her free now!" I shouted. There was no way to hide it from Mimiru now. She was completely consumed in this, and there was nothing I could do. I felt so retched inside, but at the same time, enraged to the point where I could kill.

I looked at Mimiru. She used most of her strength to get up on her feet, and so did I. She looked dazed and confused. Perhaps she didn't understand what was going around her. I brought my lips close to her ear, hoping that she could hear me. "Please listen Mimiru, I want you to teleport out of here. Log off. I promise I will catch up with you. Just.. please.."

"Ts.. Tsukasa... I... can't..." she weakly said. Her eyes were half-open, peering into mine as if the next few seconds of life were her last. I couldn't take it anymore...

"Morgana! It is me you want, right? Let Mimiru go right now so you can fully deal with me!" I shouted again. There was absolutely no way I would let Morgana get away with hurting my best friend. I spread my arms out wide as I spoke, to symbolize a shield protecting Mimiru from any harm. 

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Tsukasa... one thing you must learn in life is the sacrifices you must embed on yourself. They are painful at first, but you must understand that this is for your own good here..., the voice said. As the echoes disappeared, a rumble began encircling the two of us, which turned into a thunderous earthquake.

Once I located my staff and obtained it from the ground, I grabbed Mimiru tightly on the shoulders, hoping to snap her out of her daze at the same time. I shouted as loud as I could to her, "We're getting out of here! NOW!" 

I tried to teleport the both of us, but it was no use.

Suddenly, Mimiru's arms spread out wide, forming a cross-like position, which threw me back on the ground. I saw a strange essence form around her, and could tell that she was unable to move. In fact, at that time, she regained complete consciousness. She looked on both sides, confused on why her arms were spread like they were. She struggled, but was unable to break free.

I got up from the ground and tried to pull her arms down. The dark essence was growing larger, and no matter how much strength I put in, I just couldn't move her. 

The rumbling was getting stronger, and time was running out. There was nothing I could do.

"MORGANA! STOP THIS! STOP THIS NOW!!" I yelled. If that was all I could do, then so be it. I wrapped my arms around Mimiru, wishing that nothing would happen to her. I could hear Mimiru's rapid heartbeat. Strangely enough it was the loudest sound I could hear. _Thump... thump... thump..._

"Tsukasa..." Mimiru whispered in my ear. "... what is happening? Why can't I move...?" 

My mind couldn't take it, and I completely fell into illusion. "Don't worry Mimiru," I said to her, and at the same time continued to try and get her arms free, "Everything will be all right. Really, it will be. We'll get out of here, and be back into the computer room. Then Bear will come and yell at us for going online, but it'll be okay. I swear, it'll be-" I lost the words as tears began to roll down my eyes. Nothing could compare to the destruction I was feeling. The feeling that someone I truly cared for was in trouble and I could do nothing. She was right there, in front of me, and I could do _nothing_. 

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I told that child this same thing..., Morgana's voice aroused once more. _There are certain things that are worse than death. You will now be able to witness such a thing, and you will be ready to understand…_

A light shot up from beneath Mimiru and covered her completely. I tried to grab onto her, but the light pushed me away with limitless force. All I could hear now was her screaming in agony.

"TSUKASA! HEEEEELP!!!!!!

"MIMIRU! MIMIRUUUUUU!!!!!!!!"

******

As my eyes regained focus, I realized that I was staring into a blank screen. I moved my fingers, and was able to feel the controller once more. I was back. I was..

"No.. no.. this can't be.. Mimiru..." I said aloud to myself. I looked at the screen of my headgear, and it said I was logged off. I typed in my username and password for my account.

__

'I'm sorry. This account does not exist,' was typed on the screen. Perhaps I was too hesitant when typing my information. I tried again. The same message. I tried once more. It did not work. 

Then it hit me. It was gone. My account was really gone.

"No... not now... NOT NOW!" 

On the left of me, I heard something large fall to the ground. Afterwards, I heard the chair Mimiru sat on spinning slowly with a squeak signaling every rotation. I sat there, frozen, not wanting to see what was beside me. I knew what I was going to see, but I wanted to avoid it at all costs.

Instead, something else inside of me forced me to take my headgear off. I looked down at the ground. There laid Mimiru. Her body was lying of the floor, motionless. 

__

Mimiru...


	6. Chapter 5 Spiritless

**__**

.hack//SOUL -- .hack//Destination of a Soul

Disclaimer: I do not own .hack//SIGN or any of the characters in the anime series. This is just a fan fic based AFTER the series. That's all.

Recap from last chapter: Tsukasa was able to have one final stay in The World with her friend, Mimiru. However, strange things began to arise, and after a battle with a knight-like monster, the two were transported to a field that led to Aura's bed. Morgana's voice rose one more, brought fear all through Mimiru, and suddenly made her unable to move. After an unbelievable struggle, Tsukasa was blinded by a light and brought back to the real world. However, she did not want to look beside her, for she knew that Mimiru was lying there, unconscious. 

I took a break from the last chapter because, well, it was long compared to the others. ^^; Also, I used that 'break' to study REALLY hard on my school subjects. What's cool is that the story's weather is following exactly as here. Muahaha. *watches snow falling*

[Away from story to get to talk with others.] 

I'm working on a Buzz Lightyear of Star Command fic because I've felt empty after they took the show off the tube.. ;_;. Hehe... also, I'm making my own story. It's going to be a big one so I'm taking my time with it and developing my ideas. I'll post more about it another time. ^^;

[End]

**A VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: This is important if you want to understand the 'timeline' of this story. This fic begins AFTER episode 26 of the .hack//SIGN series. It has NOTHING to do with the game or the next series, .hack//Legend of the Twilight's Bracelet. Therefore, don't get confused if things happen that appear to be different if it were placed within the game situation (.hack//INFECTION). Just follow the story as if you just finished episode 26 and you have no idea what happens afterwards. Hehe. **

Anyways, I'll get back to this chapter. Tsukasa begins to sink in her own depression, and putting no doubt in her mind that it was her fault that Mimiru was involved and having her stuck in the motionless state she is in. This is a chapter based on Tsukasa's thoughts and reflections towards the situation. It may seem boring at first (oy..) but I did put in some interesting things that spring up the story. Well, judge for yourself. P.S.!! If you really can't wait between chapters, I make updates on my profile so you will know what is going on. I sometimes even put cookies! ^^

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Chapter 5 – Spiritless

I didn't know how much time had passed when Bear came home, entered the room, and saw Mimiru lying on the floor. I didn't know how much time had passed when the faint sound of an ambulance siren came. I didn't know when the paramedics came into the room and got Mimiru on a stand and pushed her out of the apartment and off to the hospital. I didn't know how much pain was inflicted on my cheek when Bear hit me with his hand right across my face. I didn't know why I couldn't understand the questions he was asking me. I didn't know that it was snowing hard outside as Bear drove himself and I to where the medics would keep Mimiru. I didn't know how long I stayed in the waiting room of the hospital, with my arms tucked under my chin and my arms holding them. 

I did know that it was my fault. Everything.

Bear was beginning to grow impatient with my silence. I didn't blame him at all. I couldn't speak, even if I tried. Perhaps if thoughts were a form of communication, things would have been simpler. I tried so hard to tell myself that I needed to wake up. I felt as if my soul had escaped, away from the grip of my mind and body. 

Everything that was going through my head had complete relations to what occurred in the past few hours. What I couldn't understand was why Mimiru had to be involved. There was absolutely no justified reason and it left me wondering in the darkness. If I could get to Morgana, she would probably tell me. However, that was just as impossible as getting the answer to the current question. My account was gone, deleted by the C.C. Corporation. How ironic that they chose this exact time to erase it...

"Are you going to say something yet?" Bear half-shouted, which finally brought my head up. It was the first time that day that I actually noticed his face in front of me. His eyes were daggering through mine, as if I had nowhere to escape. My lips surrendered to the glare, and began to open.

"I... didn't mean to... get Mimiru involved..." I managed to murmur out. Before I put my head back down, I saw that Bear showed a very confused and angry expression on his face.

"What do you mean 'you didn't mean to get Mimiru involved?' Involved in what? What happened in the World??" Bear said, in a louder tone than before. I felt his hands presenting a sharp grip on my shoulders. There was no choice but to tell him everything now. For the next long while, thirty minutes was my guess, I had explained to Bear everything from Aura, to Morgana, to Mimiru. I didn't bother to tilt my head up and see if Bear understood my full answer; I said everything.

There was a powerful silence as the grip on my shoulders faded away. Bear sat on the chair beside me and kept his arms on his lap, bending his back forwards a bit. I looked up and realized that we were the only two in the entire waiting room, except for an elderly man who sat in the far end of a corner, keeping to himself more than I had. 

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?" Bear finally asked, this time in a calmer voice. "You know I would've helped you, that is why I'm here. We all helped you in your past situation.. why are you still keeping things to yourself even when there are people constantly around you?"

The answer seemed so obvious in my mind, but it was hard to explain it in words. I didn't want to talk anymore either way, and Bear knew that this was more than enough for me. He sat beside me and we both waited for any information from the medics. After an hour of intended silence, a middle-aged woman walked up to us. She told us that Mimiru was currently in a coma and that no information of her awakening was certain. She handed Bear papers filled with scribbled information. He skimmed through them rather quickly. Before I could peek over his shoulder to see the papers, he handed them back to her without any show of emotion. The women then offered us a chance to visit Mimiru's room, which we did.

We followed the woman down the narrow hallway. The room was almost at the end of it, and she swung her hand towards a door with the number 62 on it. As I stood in front of the door, I could see Bear's reflection through the shiny coating of the numbers. I slowly opened the door and shifted in with Bear right behind me. Surely enough Mimiru was there, lying on the closest bed to the door. Another bed with a body tucked under the blankets laid beside her, making them a few metres apart. I quickly dragged my thoughts away from the other bed and walked up to Mimiru's side. Bear trailed to the other side.

As I looked at her, I felt as if I was close to a part of my past. It was almost like I was looking down upon myself, except instead of me, Mimiru was placed on the bed. With her pale skin and motionless body, the only slight movement that I could catch from her was when she was taking in extremely slow breaths. I was in her state not too long ago. For all I knew she was trapped with her memories lost and no door to open and escape. Very much like my experience...

I held her hand very softly, as if she was a delicate treasure which shouldn't be touched in the first place. _Please don't leave me yet…_ I said in my mind, too embarrassed to say out loud in front of Bear. He himself stood on the other side, speaking no words and showing no movement. All this closely resembled a funeral. 

__

No. This is not a funeral. Mimiru is not dead. I will find her... somehow...

"There's nothing we can do now. We better go home soon," Bear suggested. He was painfully correct. Only nurses and medics could keep her from death, while neither of us had a touch of experience with situations such as this. However, I didn't want to leave Mimiru just yet.

"You go on ahead. I will meet you in the car," I said. Bear slowly nodded and exited the room. All the while I kept holding onto Mimiru's hand, feeling her light pulse that kept hope in my heart. She was alive and that meant there was still hope.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you Mimiru," I spoke aloud, this time not ashamed to be heard. "I promise I will do whatever I can you bring you back. I'm sorry. They deleted my account. You were right. They are a bunch of assholes. I don't know what to do at this very moment... but I swear that I will think of something. Please wait for me..."

I carefully placed her hand back on the soft bed and stared at her face for a few minutes. Suddenly, I realized that I had completely overlooked the other bed that was in the room. I wondered why there was another bed in this particular room with Mimiru. Perhaps the person's condition was somewhat related to what she went through.

The suspense and curiosity took over me as I walked over to the bed with the being covered under the white sheets. From the shadows and bumps on the covers, I could tell that the body was of a child's and much younger than Mimiru. 

I looked at the child's head. It was that of a boy with light brown hair and pale skin. A few tubes were connected to his arms, and a larger one covering his mouth and nose to help him breath, just like for Mimiru. His cheeks almost appeared rosy as I focused more on his face. I brought up my hand and lightly touched his cheek. A very small grin struck on the boy's lips which made my eyes widen and my feet distance away from the body. I gasped. In that second... in that one instant... I knew who it was...

__

Sora...

I don't know what made me assume that. Perhaps it was the grin, or.. perhaps it was warmth of his skin. But nothing or no one would be able to change my mind about this. I was as certain about this as I was certain that he was breathing. I knew Bear would not believe me, but I did not care. He was not here in this room. Here Sora was, in this bed, right next to Mimiru. The story began to unfold in my mind.

If Sora was here, then something must have happened to him before Subaru, Mimiru and I left him in the World. The rest of the pages in the story appeared to be empty, or uncompleted for me to understand the entire situation. With that, I still had another story to finish with Mimiru and the problem with Aura and Morgana. 

About half an hour had passed after Bear left the room. When that thought came into my head, I decided to leave the puzzle as it was and slowly complete it another time. As I walked to the exit of the room, I repeated through my head that not only will I save Mimiru, but I will also save Sora at the same time. 

***

Bear let me take the following day off from school. I spent that time lying on my bed and thinking about Mimiru, Sora and the spirit that I still had left within me. Something kept me going that day. 

I did not tell Bear about Sora. I made the first mistake when I accidentally got Mimiru involved, and I dared not to have another know about this after seeing the dreadful consequences. Besides, he already knew enough from what I told him yesterday at the hospital. The only thing I told Bear that morning was that I was going to visit Mimiru again. Bear did not have any obligations to that, as long as it wasn't necessary for him to give up the car while on his job. I informed him that I would use the bus as transportation.

As I sat on my bed that morning, I felt almost relieved that time was moving so slowly. I stayed in bed until 9:30am, got up and took a shower at ten o'clock, then got dressed and trailed towards the kitchen at 10:30am. The refrigerator was satisfyingly full, even though I did not feel like eating much. I grabbed a small carton of chocolate milk, closed the fridge door, and sat down on one of the rocky chairs. 

As I sipped the milk from the carton (I was too lazy to pick up a glass), I re-noticed the article referring to the C.C. Corporation. For some strange reason, it made me wonder why the police did not question or bother us about the incident with Mimiru. It was almost as if they understood her condition, and perhaps that was why she was put in the same room as Sora. All that seemed to refer back to the Corporation which kept me hanging until I finished the entire carton. 

The C.C. Corporation was enormous. It is not difficult to assume that when looking at all of its success with the construction of The World. However, behind the walls there must lie some powerful secrets that could have something to do with the recent events that have taken place. A young individual like myself would have complications getting to those concealments. However, I decided to keep that thought in mind. 

I threw the carton into the garbage and made my way back to my room. It was then that I realized I still had my philosophy essay to write, an essay on the theory of a soul. I decided to type it later tonight since I didn't feel like going near the computer for a little while. I took my bag, went to the kitchen once more, packed a lunch, and went on my decided journey to the hospital.

Taking the bus would take an awful long time. With the cold weather getting worse, I made sure I was covered with thick, warm clothing. 

I managed to make it on a half-empty bus with a somewhat comfortable seat in the back. The ride to the hospital was not that long, only two hours. Perhaps it didn't seem lengthy to me at that time because of my eyes staring off into space as usual. I couldn't help but be stupefied at all the missions that lay before me. 

I entered the hospital and told the secretary at the desk who I was. She allowed me to pass through the hallway and into the room where Mimiru and Sora laid. As I entered, I felt the same ambiguous atmosphere I experienced when I went in the room for the first time with Bear. Nothing had changed and it looked like Mimiru was in an eternal slumber... like the renowned character Sleeping Beauty. Sora was very much the same as her.

I brought up a chair and sat between the two beds. The machines they were connected to were a bit annoying. _Beep... beep... beep_. Vexatious as they were, I did not want them to stop. Everything was depended on those sounds.

Suddenly, footsteps were walking simultaneously with the sound from the machines. The walking of feet was getting louder, and almost overpowering the machines' noise. It was heading for the room I was in. With the footsteps getting louder, I also began to hear slightly squeaking wheels coming forward. Soon, two figures presented themselves at the door, one in a wheelchair and the other pushing it. The one in the wheelchair was Subaru. She was not surprised to see me, unlike I to her.

"You can leave me here. It will only be for a little while," she said to her female companion standing next to her. Once she left, Subaru wheeled her way towards me. I stood up.

"Subaru... you know about this?" I asked. It was a pointless question. She obviously knew about this. That's why she was here. 

"Yes. Bear told me last night. Everyone knows now," Subaru answered. That was not the response I wanted to hear. With everyone certain about this situation, I would be pressured to give out a more clear explanation of everything. I waited for Subaru to begin building a tower of questions on my shoulders.

Instead, she went to the direction of the other side of Mimiru's bed. She stared at the still body for a few minutes and never said a word during so. I continued to wait.

"Tsukasa..."

__

Here it comes.

"You don't have to tell me anything if you do not want to," she said, while still looking at Mimiru.

__

...what?

That was all that she said. There was a long pause afterwards and the entire time she kept her face away from me. I stood there, not realizing that I have been standing the whole time even with the chair behind me.

Finally, she brought her head up and looked at me.

"It has been a while since I've talked to you and Mimiru offline. I have been so busy with my schoolwork that I never had much time to observe how you two were doing occasionally. I cannot even remember the last time we joined together for a friendly activity. Therefore, it would be rude of me to come up to you and ask straight out what happened here. I can tell that you have gone through a lot in the past few hours..." she paused for a bit while I was left hanging on her words.

She then drove her wheelchair around to me. I sat down on my chair so I was at level with her.

"... but I want you to understand that I will always be here for you, even with the large amount of school work I have been getting. Taking an above-academic program does not mean I want to cut my friends out of my life. If you ever feel like talking.. please.. do not hesitate to come to me, Tsukasa."

Subaru brought forward her hands and cupped them over mine on my lap. They were warm and comforting as they always were, in and out of the World. It was all true. Although Subaru went to the same high school as us, she had chosen to attend a program which exceeds the academic level. Consequently, she was given much more work and less time to spend with Mimiru and me. However, she understood the sacrifices she had to make and went on with it. Mimiru and I were proud of her decision and supported her in any way we could.

"Thank you," I said first. "I'm glad that you came. I... I'm afraid..."

There was no point in hiding that. I put my hands over hers and held them tightly, that being the best emotion I could give out at the time. She squeezed back.

"You're strong, Tsukasa. You know you are," Subaru said back. "I know you can get through this. Mimiru knows that as well."

I looked over at Mimiru, and then realized about Sora.

"Subaru... the other child here..." I began, standing up a bit. "It is Sora. He's right here!" I felt a source of energy return to my body as I exclaimed my last words to Subaru.

Her eyes widened as she looked to the other bed in the room. She gazed over at the young boy, squinting a bit and entering the realization that it was, in fact, Sora.

"It is Sora, isn't it? I don't believe it..." was the only thing she could say. She rolled her carriage closer to the bed to get a better look. The expression he had on his face that related to Sora's was less hidden, and it seemed so realistic and coincidental to Subaru. I stood up straight, watching her look at Sora with slight amazement in her eyes.

"I'm surprised that you were able to know it was him," she continued while keeping her eyes on Sora. "I wouldn't have been able to so quickly. I just assumed that he was here for a different purpose-"

"I'm going to save them both," I said bluntly, not letting Subaru finish her sentence. 

She lifted her head and gazed at my determined face. Subaru did not respond and I did not want her to. I continued.

"I don't know how I will do it, but I know it must be done by, and only by, me. I will find out how to get to the World and find them.."

I had never been so open, even in front of Subaru. However, my silence had already done enough pain through others. It led Bear in frustration and Mimiru in the hospital. The amount of information I could give was so limited, even right now. I wanted it to stay like that. I would rather die than let Subaru or anyone else suffer because of me.

"Tsukasa, I am sure you know what I will say," Subaru began. The truth was that I did. "But... I will not say it. There are many battles that we have to face in our lives. For every battle fought, our wings grow stronger. Therefore, in the next battle we are more prepared and determined, even though the outcome is impossible to be certain of. Friends and companions are there to help in serious times, but only to a certain extent, because those wings belong to you only. If this is one of those battles where you must strengthen your wings alone, then..."

She paused and wheeled towards to me. I kneeled down, so we were at the same level as before. Subaru brought her hands out and touched my cheeks ever so softly.

"Then... I will let you go."

Never... never had I heard Subaru talk like this. My cheeks turned rose and I felt my eyes filling up with water. The tears did not fall until after what Subaru said next.

"I love you very much, Tsukasa. I love you so much that I'm letting you go. I'm not going to interfere as in the previous times. I do not want to put more weight on your wings. They are yours. Therefore, go and become stronger... and know that we, all of your friends, are behind you no matter how far away we seem to be... no matter what..."

I let tears role down my eyes as I pushed myself into Subaru's arms. I could feel Subaru's tears as they patted down onto my shoulder. Never had I felt so loved. Never had I felt so free, as if my spirit had once again returned to my body. Subaru continued through her slightly broken throat from the crying.

"Although I won't be fighting with you this time, there is something that I can give you. You see, Tsukasa..." she then put her arms that were wrapped around me down. I felt that as a signal to resume in eye contact with her. "The C.C. Corporation has stopped you from using your account. Therefore you cannot gain access to the World without one... and... I want to stay with Mimiru and Sora for a while longer..."

The tears stopped rolling down my cheeks as I concentrated more on what Subaru just said. "You w..want me to... use your account?" I stuttered.

"I don't think that will be a problem," she resumed. "You will take the form of my character, but it gives you a chance to find Mimiru and Sora in the World and fight whatever evil has caused this to happen to them."

It was a drastic plan, but as I pictured it in my head, it seemed that it could work. Subaru laid out a clean road for me and now all I needed to do was walk across it to get to the dark castle, where the real trouble would begin. 

".. Has anyone ever done this?" I asked curiously. It would be best if I had some encouraging evidence to keep me going with this plan. Subaru giggled slightly and gave a smile.

"Of course, people have been doing it many times. It is not recommended, but commonly done without any side effects. Don't worry. This is not impossible. It does not matter that you might be different from other users. Your previous account was lost so now you are just as normal as everyone else, am I right? Therefore, you should be just fine," Subaru delicately answered. The words were helpful and more of an eye-opener.

__

I.. am a normal user now.. I said to myself, portraying the sudden truth through my mind. If I were to get my own account, which I soon would in time, then I could be whoever I wanted without the old Tsukasa haunting me. I could start anew once everything was taken care of.

"You better go now," Subaru quickly said. "There is no telling what Mimiru and Sora are going through at this moment. Come here," she lifted her right hand and signaled me to come closer to her. I bent down so my face was only a few centimetres from her face. She pushed her back away from the wheelchair rest and brought her lips to my ear.

"My password is..." she whispered her account password to me. The word released from her mouth like normal air. She went back to her initial position. I gave a warm smile of appreciation that was acknowledged by Subaru's bright smile. I gave her a tight hug, stood up straight, and made my way to the door of the small room.

Before leaving, I turned my head around to observe Mimiru and Sora once more. I then looked directly at Subaru. "I _will_ bring them back. I promise," and with that said, I ran past the door and through the hallway. I lightly bumped into a doctor on the way, but I did not stop running. When I made it to the main doors of the building, the secretary shouted, "Slow down! No running in the hospital!" but I ignored her. I kept on running out of the hospital and onto the road.

I saw the bus coming towards the nearest stop and made it just in time. The transit vehicle was completely empty except for the driver and myself. I took a seat in the middle of the bus, near a window. While the vehicle began to push on, I looked at the hospital through the window. I placed both hands on the screen and breathed my thoughts through it and towards Subaru's mind.

"I promise..."

Do you like how the story is going? Please leave a review and remember to check my profile for updates. ^^


	7. Chapter 6 Returning

**_.hack/SOUL -- .hack/Destination of a Soul_**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own .hack/SIGN or any of the characters in the anime series. This is just a fan fic based AFTER the series. That's all.

And the fic still lives! Sorry about the looong delay.. such is life. In any case, we are drawing nearer to the conclusion of the fic. I told you it wouldn't be too long. The last chapter might be #8. However, this current chapter is very important because you will understand why the title is called .hack/SOUL - .hack/Destination of a Soul. Also a few mind-warping things between Tsukasa and Morgana that I always wanted to do. Hehe. Okay, that's enough. Enjoy the chapter. Let's hope the next one doesn't take this long!

* * *

_Chapter 6 – Returning _

Although it was a long and solitary ride on the bus home, my determination did not fade for a second. To stop my irritation towards the bus driver, who seemed to be driving at a low speed despite the lack of traffic, I gripped tightly onto the front of the seat while staring into the gray clouds that remained after the previous snowfalls this week. The weather was gradually getting warmer even though the last snow storm gave a slight warning that the real winter weather was coming. However, spring struggled to shout out across the fields as the snow began to melt and the sun's rays were just visible through the dreary sky, although the season was many months away. For the first time in a long while, everything was finally showing colour. It was as if Subaru was the one who sent a universal rainbow that helped me realize that not all hope was lost.

The bus gave a loud screech as it finally came towards the nearest stop to my apartment. I quickly left the vehicle and jogged to my home. I was surprised at how much green was already visible on the edges of the sidewalk. The trees continued to spread dull red and orange colours on their leaves as the short hint of winter quickly passed by. I glanced at the amount of fall grass as I increased my speed towards the large doors of the building.

It was not until I entered the erratic elevator that it hit me; I was excited. There was nothing that prepared me for what lied ahead, but at that point I had absolutely no skepticism. I was truly confident that I was able to bring Mimiru and Sora back to the real world. At the same time, I also believed that I could help Aura as well. I could still remember when I held her in my arms as she fell into a deep sleep once more. It all seemed so dreamlike, but there was no doubt in my mind that what happened to her had a lot to do with Morgana, which was a very true deal. If I could just find her and Aura, I might be able to find Mimiru and Sora..

My hand shook a bit as I opened the door with my keys. I peered into every room to see if Bear had returned home early. With every bit of luck on the planet, he was not there. Looking at the kitchen clock, it seemed that he would not be back for another three hours. Perfect.

I did not want to lose too much time. I ran into my room for a brief moment. I noticed a single piece of paper lying on my desk. It was there since I had that strange dream with Aura. The paper did, in fact, had every bit of detail from that dream. I read it, remembering how much this was my writing, and then folded it in two and placed it in the front pocket of my sweatshirt.

I went back to the kitchen to grab a soda from the fridge. After swiftly gulping half of it down my throat, I almost overlooked the article about the CC Corporation and the dismantling of the old World. I read it for the third time. For some reason, it only hit me then. The CC Corporation lied. They lied to millions of people all over the world when they held that meeting and said that everything was normal. Nothing was normal, and destroying my account was proof of that. Even greater proof was what happened to Sora and Mimiru. I felt so angry and frustrated. They made people so certain that everything was all right when in reality there were many problems occurring behind their backs and affecting a small handful of people which included me. I pushed the fury away and went back to what was needed to be done.

I threw the now empty soda can into the garbage basket in the computer room and placed myself into the chair. I just noticed that I put myself in the chair that Mimiru sat on before she was put in the hospital. It was an eccentric feeling, as if a ghost was sitting on it with me. I put on the necessary headgear and turned on the computer screen. Within moments I put in all of Subaru's account information.

Username: Subaru

Password: maha

I smiled again as I typed the password, knowing how Subaru had made it just for me. At first I wondered if she understood the risks of having such a short password, but nobody knew about Maha except us. I never forgot the things she had done for me. Through those long hours of staying beside sleeping Aura's bed, she would always be there. Strange things happened that forced me to question my trust for her, but in the end, her sacrifice meant everything. Even if she was just part of the game, I would never forget Maha.

Right before I pressed enter, I whispered to myself, '_Mimiru, Sora... Aura... I'm coming!_' And with that, I pressed the button and zoomed through the World.

It was an enchanting adventure already. Just the thought of seeing myself in Subaru's clothes was interesting enough. After passing through the initial stage, I managed to touch my feet onto the hard surface of the World, in Dona Roriak. As I looked around, everything could never have been more regular... except for one thing. The stares. People began to stare at me without saying a word. They walked by, gave me a hard glance, and then continued on their path. Confused, I turned to my side and saw why. I was holding Tsukasa's staff, my staff. I looked down and noticed that I was, to my utter surprise, Tsukasa, in the same appearance that I always had since I first entered the World.

"Oh my God! What is this!" I yelled. This was grossly wrong. I went into Subaru's account and entered the World as Tsukasa. It could not have gotten more disturbing. However, there was a reason behind it all, and I had to find it. Without contacting the others, or looking for them, I transferred to the area where Aura's bed lay.

* * *

The place looked as if years had passed since the last time I came. The blood from the ground had sunken into the dirt and Aura's bed looked a lot cleaner. The sheets were a bit torn though, and the pillow looked deflated. I walked over to the bed, kneeled down, and placed my hand on the pillow. 

"Aura, if you know where I am, please find me," I said out loud, hoping that she heard me from wherever she was. Suddenly, I felt a cold arm on my shoulder. I could see, in the corner of my eye, a bright light beaming behind me. As I turned around, I felt the brush of beautiful white hair across my face.

"Aura!" I shouted. There she was. While still kneeling, I placed my arms around her. It wasn't until then that I felt something different. She was cold as ice, which was not how she initially felt like. She usually felt like a warm angel that, when touched, would take all the pain away. At this time, she looked as helpless as ever. Nonetheless, I continued to hold her in my arms, knowing that she was still the key to finding Mimiru and Sora.

The bright light that was coming from her had faded and I could see her a lot more clearly. As I let go of her to see her face, I noticed that something else was different. I could not tell if her eyes were open or closed, for they were covered by a thick white cloth of some sort, as if she was blind.

"This isn't me.." I heard her whisper. Her voice was so light and fragile I could hardly hear her. "This isnt threal me.." She muffled as if she could not hear her own words, as if she was deaf.

I put my right hand over her mouth as she spoke. I gasped. She had no breath. It was almost.. as if she wasn't alive at all. This wasn't Aura at all. This was...

"Aura, how did you do this? Where is the real you?" I said, having about a dozen other questions behind my back but trying my best to take my time so I could hear her barely speak.

"I'm wth you frinds.. onesawake but othr sleping.." she continued to muffle. I carefully heard every word and then realized she was trying to say that Mimiru and Sora were with her. Except.. only one was awake. I was running out of time.

"Where are you, Aura?" I yelled, trying desperately to maintain my composure. The situation was getting worse as the fake Aura began to fade. I tried to keep a strong grip on her shoulders, but my hands soon fell through her. I needed to get something out of her.

"Aura! Where are you?" I continued to shout. All I wanted was an answer..

"Im in... you soul..." she whispered as the remainder of her appearance vanished.

_My soul?.._ I said to myself, trying to understand what Aura meant by that. There had to be a way to bring her back. I looked around myself, trying to find clues of any matter.

And then, I looked at the pillow on Aura's bed. I remembered, the last time I came here, there was a note under it. I carefully got up and walked towards the side of the bed. With one hand, I dove it under the pillow, flinching a bit from the blood touching my skin. I never liked the feeling of blood. Sure enough, my hand felt a thin piece of paper. With two fingers, I took it out.

It was blank. I tried my best to remember the word on the paper. I couldn't believe that I had forgotten something so important, especially now. And then, a memory of Philosophy class flashed in my mind. I didn't know why, but I concentrated on it:

_The soul.. a definitely important philosophical reference to our topic. One can say that the existence of a soul creates a man, yet others would say that a man created the theory of a soul. Many different philosophers.._

"That's it!" I remembered. _S.O.U.L._ That was how it was written. I didn't know why, but there just had to be some significance of this paper. It had some link to the real Aura.. perhaps it would help me find her, which would then help me find Mimiru and Sora. My options were extremely limited, but there had to be a way to reveal this link.

I crouched down and put the blank piece of paper on the dry crimson ground. As I got back up, I held my staff with both hands and concentrated on my reflection in the sphere of the stick. It was only I, Tsukasa, who could do this. No one could even come close. I knew exactly what had to be done.

I closed my eyes and led the tip of the staff over to the left edge of the paper. Very carefully, I began to trace _S.O.U.L._ back onto the sheet. I did not know if the text had returned, for my eyes had stayed shut for the entire time. I continued to hold the staff tightly as I concentrated on every curve and line I made, hoping that the word would return.

I stopped once I finished the last period. For some reason, I could not open my eyes. I could not determine whether this was of or against my will. I felt my fingers shake as I began losing my grip on the rod. Was I already getting scared? I had to hold on. Something extraordinary was going to happen.. I just knew it. I was definitely going to find them all. All I had to do was.. hold.. on..

"AURA!" I shouted as I brought up the staff with all my strength and smashed the tip to the paper, digging it deep into the ground. I expected to hear my voice echo, but I heard no sound after my staff hit the surface. I looked down and marveled at the strips of white light appearing from the paper. The word 'S.O.U.L." miraculously came into view and disappeared again in an instant. But the light continued to shine. All I could do was hold on as a strong gust of wind and ribbons of luminosity circulated around me. I still could not hear a thing. Before I knew it, the bright light had swallowed the entire scenery.

With no sky, no wind, or even a place to stand, I began to float in a white area of nothing.

"Welcome to your soul, Tsukasa," a voice echoed, undoubtedly Morgana's. Before I could act, the white background flashed into black, and then white again, multiple times until I could not bare to keep my eyes open. Once I opened them again I was on hard soil, my staff at least twelve feet away from me. There was finally a sky, a familiar sky that filled me with tranquility and reassurance. A sky that told me exactly where I was.

"What am I doing back in the real world?" I said, unsure if I was talking to myself or Morgana.

"This isn't the real world, Tsukasa," Morgana spoke once more. "This a reflection of the world, and your soul is the mirror. Everything you see hear is developed and maintained by you. This is _your_ world."

Indeed my eyes showed me the world where I grew up in, but they lied when they wanted to convince me this was a reality. I could see, hear, and touch everything that was in front of me, but when I breathed, I inhaled a nasty scent of artificial air that felt worse than being the The World. Wherever I was, my soul or not, this was a nightmare covered in a blanket of deceit. I wiped the thoughts of my surroundings away and concentrated on what needed to be found.

"Where is Aura?" I said out loud. Asking the question was a waste of time.. I knew that.. but any hints to find her would do.

"She is not important at the moment, my dear Tsukasa," Morgana answered, her voice getting somewhat louder. "Finally, you have completed your journey. You have found your center.. your true world.. and you can live with me forever."

Her words echoed away. The last thing I heard from her was a deep inhale. I expected an exhale of breath, or perhaps another release of words, but I heard nothing after. Alone again, I went back to the means of exploration.. perhaps she was hiding Aura in this fake atmosphere.

When I turned around, I nearly tripped backwards at the sight. There in front of me, just about half a block away, was my old house. What hit my mind the first time I saw it was the long time interval between leaving the place and moving into Bear's apartment. It was like a haunting nostalgia.. something I longed to see in my dreams but never to enter.

Suddenly the door of the house opened. My breathing literally stopped, and I felt as if I was paralyzed. I did not know who would walk out that door and present themselves. Perhaps it was Aura. Perhaps she found her way into my soul by means of tapping into the deep memories of my childhood residence. Or perhaps.. perhaps it was..

"... father?" I heard myself say. I touched my mouth in amazement. Where did I conjure up the nerve to call him my father once more? Ever since my mother's death, he was selfish, rude, and abusive towards me. I had lost a lot of respect and compassion for him, which was one of the reasons that lead me to The World. Once I found myself again and returned, I was much stronger. Leaving that hospital, I knew I would make things right again. There were so many people who helped me.. Subaru.. Bear.. Mimiru... Mimiru!

I blinked hard to bring myself back into focus. The door had opened as far as it could, presenting a black space that traveled around the house. My father was definitely not there. As far as my eyes could tell, there was no one standing there. I did not want to wait too long for something to happen, so I took a step towards the shelter. Perhaps I was being lead into something.

However, I stopped when a dark, blurred figure quickly appeared beside the door. It surely startled me, but I was able to maintain my composure. It was hard to explain how the figure appeared.. it was almost like it formed itself from the darkness within the house. However way it emerged, I could not tell who it was. There was hardly any texture or detail to the figure, making it difficult to tell if it was even human.

Suddenly, a long part from the bottom of the figure split, yet continued to stay connected at one part, and began to move towards me. The other part, which was left from the separation, make a move forward, passed the other part and closer to me. They seemed to resemble long legs. Indeed, it was walking to me.

It took me a while to realize that the figure was, in fact, that of a human being. Yet, the image in front of me looked more of a silhouette than something real and concrete. Once it got closer, I was able to distinguish the arms.. then the shoulders.. a neck.. and a head with long hair trailing behind it. However, the silhouette never colourized.

Suddenly, as I looked at what appeared to be the head of the figure, a small hole opened up at where the mouth should be. I could only assume that it was going to speak.

"Tsukasa.."

It did speak.. I could see the mouth opening and closing as it said my name.. but for some reason, I voice flew to my ears as if it was said behind me. I turned around, but no one was there. Quickly, I fixed my head to its original position to make sure the figure was still there.

"Can you guess who I am..?" it spoke once again. I could feel the blood pulsing through my hands as they wrapped into hard fists. I was not in the mood for another one of Morgana's games. There had to be an end to all of this.

"I won't guess, but I can do something else!" I said as I walked towards the dark figure. I finally had a concrete plan: I would grab the figure, which was surely Morgana, throw a convincing threat at her, and if worse came to worse, I would use my staff to..

_Where is my staff?_ I said to myself while taking large steps forward. I thought I had seen it just a while ago, but I could not remember. Well, it did not matter yet. Right now, there had to be action. Despite the confusing atmosphere and struggle to get where I was, I felt like I was in a dominating position. There was no surprises just yet, or any arising tricks that could catch me off guard. I watched where I was going as I was only a few feet from Morgana. I brought up my arms, just as I was face to face with her, and made an attempt to grab her arms, wherever they should've been.

As my hands touched the black substance, I instantly felt as if quick sand was surrounding the tip of my fingers. The darkness seemed to be sucking my fingernails in, but stopped when it hit the middle of my fingers. As disgusting as it would have sounded, my fingers actually felt comfortable in the substance. With the figure still staying inactive, I moved on with my plan.

"Listen to me! I'm not the silent, lost soul I once was. Unlike you, I've changed and become a better person."

"Nobody knows that better than I do, Tsukasa," the figure said, in a voice I could not have taken for granted.

"S-Subaru?" I managed to say.

Before I knew it, the dark muddy substance covering my fingers evaporated, along with the rest of it on the person, revealing Subaru herself. I stepped back in astonishment, but also in disgust.

"I- I don't believe this. You really think I'm going to fall for this? I know very well that you aren't Subaru," I said bluntly, keeping my arms at the level of my chin in a form of defense.

"Isn't it amazing.." the figure's skin evaporated, presenting another character, Mimiru. I almost could not help falling for it when I saw her. She looked so real, but I could not let my eyes give in. "How much your soul can contain?" Another change, this time, from Mimiru to Bear in his business suit. "I can be anything your soul desires."

I could not help but back away. I knew she was trying to toy with my emotions, but I was not going to give in.. she knew that.. so what was she planning? There was not much I could do.

"And perhaps," in an instant she became Sora, speaking in his playful voice, "your one desire all along," she then moved from Sora to Krim, "was to see me.."

What could I do but expect her to change into another friend of mine? What was she trying to lead me to? All I could possibly do was watch as she changed into...

Her next form... I... I could not believe. _No.. it isn't.. Tsukasa.. please.. listen to yourself.. it isn't.._ The voice inside me faded away as my hands grew numb and my eyes stared at the new figure in front of me with a slight blurred vision as a thin layer of water formed around them.

"M-mother..?" I said with every strength in my voice box. My mother.. she was standing there.. just the way she looked before she left.. before she died. She seemed a lot taller when I was a child.. and now I was almost her height.. she had the thickest brown hair that trailed down to her waist.. short strands floating in front of her face.. in front of her vibrant brown eyes that matched mine exactly.. to her pointed noise that stood out so positively. And that smile.. with the lips like sugar, that I loved to kiss when I was little.. brighter than any part of her body.

She was wearing the last thing before she died, a long orange dress that she told me my grandmother gave to her. It was at least a size too big but she continued to wear it, mainly for walking in the garden because it was the most perfect clothing for late spring.

_Please.. listen to me.. it's not- _

"Tsukasa.." her sweet, poignant voice escaped her mouth and entranced my senses. The waves in her tone caused me to close my eyes as I swam in her warm presence. I could not help but picture a strong, vivid memory from many years ago.

* * *

_I was not one to think about the inevitable. Frankly, I was too scared to. But then, one day, I did. Sure, I had those days where I would think about it and my mind would just travel to another thought, but this time.. it became obsessive. I felt alone with my own thoughts, and scared. This was one of the most powerful memories of my childhood, because when I felt like nothing could cure me from my own thoughts.. she was there.. and she helped me through it all._

"What's wrong, dear?" I heard my mother call from outside my room. I did not want her to see me crying into my pillow. I tried my best to wipe my tears away, but she had already entered the room and took a glimpse of my red face and stuffy nose.

"Nothing, nothing mommy," I said weakly. I knew I had no chance of hiding my feelings from her. All I could do was watch her as she approached me and sat in the middle of my bed.

"You've been like this for the past two weeks now. Something like this isn't normal. Why are you feeling so down all the time?" my mother asked as she put her hand on my head. I brought my cheek to the side of my wet pillow and let the rest of my tears fall across my nose and onto the fabric.

"I'm.. scared, mommy," I was finally able to say. I never wanted to talk about what I was feeling in the past little while, but by now I was too deep to lift myself out. I was foolish to think I could handle my emotions on my own.

_I was just a little girl._

"You don't have to be scared anymore. Just tell me everything," she said while brushing my hair with her smooth fingers.

What could I say to her? She could answer back in so many different ways, but I would constantly think to myself that, in the end, it would not matter. There were things in life that not even the kindest people could stand against. I let that fear take hold of me.

"I'm scared that.. you're going to leave," I finally said. I inhaled quickly as a few more tears swam across my skin. I looked to my side and could see my mother's face. Her eyes were widened, with concern and perplexity swimming through them.

"Honey.. what are you talking about? I'm not leaving you.. I'm still here," she said. I did not expect any more from her. What else could she say? It did not make a difference.

"Yes, but.. but you won't always be here.. one day you will be g-gone," I almost could not say those painful words. Why was I thinking these things? I did not even know why. And how would she answer me? In the end, she was just a human.

".. why are you thinking about these things?" my mother asked. I was hoping she would not give me a question like that, because I did not know. "You know you shouldn't be. There are so many other things to think about. Why are you making yourself think about this?"

"I.. don't know. I.. can't help it," I whimpered. It was true, I could not help it.

"Tsukasa.. please, don't do this to yourself," she continued. "Don't think about things that shouldn't worry you now. I'm still here. I love you, your father loves you, I love your father.. and I think he loves me.." She ended the sentence with a short sigh. I was startled by the last thing she said, and shot straight up from the bed.

"Of course he does!" I said louder than my previous tone. At that point, nothing else mattered to me but for mom to realize that dad loved him. I always hated when they got into fights.. it just killed me inside. I would cry and cry.. and only stop when they had settled everything.

"Then don't worry," she began squeezing me harder, but there was more comfort in the grip than pain. "I promise that everything will be alright. Just don't think about these things, and know that we're here for you no matter what. We will always be here. Always."

I had already gone too deep in reality which warped my idea of what 'always' truly meant. Nevertheless, I felt cured. Cured by the warmth of my mother. Everything felt right again. This was, indeed, the most wonderful feeling in the entire word.

"Thank you mommy. I love you."

_It was about two months later that she died, and my cure was gone. I cannot think of a more horrible feeling than at that time, which is now a tattered memory. My love and my help was gone, and I cried once again. However, there was nothing in the other half that aided my soul. My father became an alcoholic just a few days after my mother passed away, and instead of comfort and affection I had to deal with hateful words and abuse that added to this horrible feeling. I had no friends, and when I tried to make some, my father would make sure that I was as miserable as he was._

_Thank goodness I discovered the World. It was a long, difficult journey to remember myself, but it was all worth it to find friends that I love with all my heart. I had never loved anyone more than I loved my mother, but they were still dear to me, and I would protect them as they would for me. It was like I saw a piece of my mother in them._

_It was as if my mother was still living_...

* * *

Before I opened my eyes once again, I could feel two warm, skinny arms wrapped around me that felt like a reassuring cover that kept every fond memory in tact and every happy feeling alive. I slowly breathed her in.. her long brown hair brushing against my nose. My cheek rested on her neck while I stared at my old house. What perfect scenery.. and what perfect love. In the end, I did not care what was real anymore. There was no reality.. there was no soul.. there was just me and her. 

"Tsukasa," I heard her whisper. My mother squeezed me harder, her lips touching my neck. "I love you, Tsukasa."

Each of her fingers massaged my spine comfortably. I could not find any other place I would rather be than here, with her.. forever.

"Mother, I lo-" before I could finish my sentence, I felt a tremendous shot of pressure in the middle of my back. The pressure caused me to choke on my words and straighten my back from my mother's grasp. I was very confused at what had happened at that moment. I wanted to say something, but I suddenly realized why I could not.

I felt something slowly digging inside of me. It took me a few more seconds to understand what had happened; my mother had stabbed me in the back with her own hand. How she could do it, I did not know, but she did not stop there. While I still could not do anything, she continued to bury her fingers deep under my skin, to the point where I could no longer arch my back. The pain began once I felt thin strands of blood slowly pour down my back, through my clothes and eventually touching my feet. She used her other hand to hold my neck from pushing away. I had no way of escaping, and I had no idea why this was happening, until it finally hit me...

I was fooled.

I could not believe it. I.. could not believe I fell for this. Morgana had changed her appearance so many times before my eyes.. so why, all of a sudden, did everything make sense when she turned into my own mother? Was I still holding onto the past so much that I could not tell what was real anymore? Could I not even tell what was real in my very own soul?

When she finally stopped digging her hand into my body, I had already surrendered my soul to her.

What other choice did I have?

I was such a fool.

_

* * *

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review and be sure to check my profile for updates on the next chapter_! 


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